The Book of Fables

by W.S. Merwin

“Metaphors, puns, surrealist visions, converted into sharp, disturbing little narratives . . . only a poet, and a good one, could have written it.” — The Atlantic Monthly

W.S. Merwin’s acclaimed short prose pieces — many of which first appeared in The New Yorker — blur the distinction between fiction, poetry, essay, and memoir. Reminiscent of Kafka, Borges, and Beckett, they evoke mythical patterns and unlikely adventures and raise questions about art, reality, and meaning. As the, itself fabled, Saturday Review once remarked, the prose pieces have “astonishing range and power.”

The Book of Fables comprises all the short prose from two of Merwin's out-of-print collections, The Miner’s Pale Children and Houses and Travellers. The pieces run from a single sentence to a dozen pages and create a poetic landscape both sere and sensuous.

Genres: Poetry, Short Stories, Fiction, Essays

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

William Stanley Merwin was an American poet, credited with over fifty books of poetry, translation and prose.

William Stanley Merwin (September 30, 1927 – March 15, 2019) was an American poet who wrote more than fifty books of poetry and prose, and produced many works in translation. During the 1960s anti-war movement, Merwin's unique craft was thematically characterized by indirect, unpunctuated narration. In the 1980s and 1990s, his writing influence derived from an interest in Buddhist philosophy and deep ecology. Residing in a rural part of Maui, Hawaii, he wrote prolifically and was dedicated to the restoration of the island's rainforests.

Merwin received many honors, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1971 and 2009; the National Book Award for Poetry in 2005, and the Tanning Prize—one of the highest honors bestowed by the Academy of American Poets—as well as the Golden Wreath of the Struga Poetry Evenings. In 2010, the Library of Congress named him the 17th United States Poet Laureate.

Reviews

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of this is collected from Merwin's previous works; I think they might in fact be more enjoyable to read in the slimmer volumes. So many of these pieces, though short, require working through slowly in order to really grasp them, and the bulkier volume almost makes it feel like a heavy task rather than the real pleasure that it should be.

[Craig Morgan Teicher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This made me write

[atito · Rating 4 out of 5]

week-long dream. trains pouring out from cliffs & trees piecing back together & empty museums & unremembered fires. in regular dream logic, i think few (not many but still!) imagined themselves smarter than they were, & some were in turn more affecting than their first impression. i liked the labyrinthine language that itself traces the contours of empty places between people & the spaces they occupy & the strange things they do in them, carrying this & that, hearing all this song & rain. i also like that many were not wise! So many are instead about silence & abandoned pieces & the viscous stuff of loss--of loss gentle enough to be barely felt or felt only as another afternoon.
"The glass days fall to the earth suddenly on a spring morning when the mammoth's mouth is full of daisies."

[Ba]

There is interesting enigma here, but something makes it difficult for me to read trustingly the way I would Borges or Rilke. I have not read intensely enough to say or make a real judgment but I think the depth of these invites a lighter tone, like Calvino (I finally see why Lightness is fundamental) but seems to take itself too seriously, as poetry, or tries to do too much. The tone is that of high seriousness, of the poet sitting puzzled (but also aware that people are regarding him pondering such mysteries) before enigmas

[Cc]

There is interesting enigma here, but something makes it difficult for me to read trustingly the way I would Borges or Rilke. I have not read intensely enough to say or make a real judgment but I think the depth of these invites a lighter tone, like Calvino (I finally see why Lightness is fundamental) but seems to take itself too seriously, as poetry, or tries to do too much. The tone is that of high seriousness, of the poet sitting puzzled (but also aware that people are regarding him pondering such mysteries) before enigmas

[Daniel Klawitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There is no returning to the ungrieved world."

[Maegan Fahy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every story was beautifully written, though every other story leaned opaque. Given the length of these pieces, a shorter book would’ve lent itself better to building some sort of momentum! Regardless of the quality of writing— and I love Merwin, his admiring eye, full spirit, and wholistic outlook— the structure of the thing made me go four stars instead of five.

[Kate Savage · Rating 4 out of 5]

"That day oblivion told me that he was my heir but I told him that I had made up my mind now, I would appear before I disappeared. Even if it made it worse."

When this book is good, it is the best. Sometimes sounding like Kafka and sometimes like Calvino. When it isn't good, it is tedious, a stranger telling you an intricate dream.

[Garrett Dunnington · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most profound collection of prose I have ever read. W.S. Merwin is still on my list of poets to delve through a bibliography.

[Helena Corder]

This book is amazing.