Finding the Islands

by W.S. Merwin

Poems present the author's observations on the natural world, love, and his experiences and feelings

Genres: Poetry

88 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

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

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in the process of re-reading many of my poetry books, cover to cover, to savor poems I missed in past perusing and to read the collections for what they are: a continuous stream. This Merwin is a case in point. Reading it from start to finish is to witness the curve of a love affair, as well as the love of nature that may well be part of love. These poems are surprisingly romantic and sensual.
For instance: "long ago it was raining and we stepped/over the burned mountain stones/and kissed in a cloud//today on the mountain you turn/you raise your hand you call/you start toward me"

and

"each of us is one/side of the rain/we have only one shadow"

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I were rating the two parts separately, Feathers from the Hill would get 3.5 stars. I did not enjoy these as as much Merwin's poems in The Carrier of Ladders. But Part 2, Turning to You, I loved and would have given 5 stars. Those poems were so personal and intimate. I felt somewhat of a voyeur reading them.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This a found poem in this lovely book of poems about nature and love:

The colors look back at the trees
But the birds shut their eyes
Thinking to see it all again_
—
Along the white hill
Owl floats
Weighed down with the moonlight
—
Nobody knows who lived here
The roof is gone
The eastern cloud swallows the stars
—
In high mountains
The late grass
Grows as fast as it can
—
Because of things not even remembered
We are here
Listening to the water
—
There broad blue petals
I do not know
What kind of flower
—
Among the pines above me
Flowers from days ago
Are about to open
—
Leaves never seen before
Look how they have grown
Since we came here
—
Birds up on the roof
If I went up to see
They would be gone
—
For each voiceless flower
There is a voice among
The absent flowers
—
Pine needles many as stars
One word for all the trees ever seen
And their lifetimes
—
Pines against sky of mist
Where I am now
In a breath of a mountain
—
White flowers among white stones
Under white windy aspens
After night of moonlight and thoughts of snow
————————
One morning the days have grown shorter
And fireweed is purple
On the mountain
—
Sound of rain on tent
Light from wet sagebrush
On all sides
—
Sundown across shallow stream
Magpies bathe together
In aspen thicket
—
Wrinkled mountains
End of autumn day
Peach down
—
The colors move
But not
The evening clouds
—
Through black pines
Colors on the mountain
Climb down the days
—
Gold trees
Turn into
Smoke again
—
At last
Leaves fall
From bare sky
—
Many times clouds were mountains
Then one morning mountains
Woke as clouds
—
Leaves still on branches
Turn at night into
First snow
—
There was never a time
When you were not walking toward me
From under great trees
—
Late I came
To the joy of this
Whatever I have is yours
—
Yours is the radiance
You say is mine since you met me
Pearl of heaven
—
I travel on and on
Until there is only you
My homeland and morning
—
I want to be buried
Under your heart
Where I was born
—
I want you to be
the air in the house
The footfall inside me
—
Through our love the beacon
Goes on turning
And the sea glides in
—
I want to be the dream
You feel
And the light you wake to
—
In your voice the rain
Is finding its way to the stream
Above the sea

[Adrian Alvarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this slim volume Merwin experiments with works made up of three line stanzas. The opening section titled Feathers from the Hill is really strong. An easy 5 stars, it contains some of the most poetic and beautiful imagery I've read from Merwin. It is a pastoral section that sets the reader in a place and time so evocatively and with such potency I felt as though I could taste the misty air as I read.

Many times clouds were mountains
then one morning mountains
woke as clouds
-
Feet in mist
feel the earth move
from under

The changing of the seasons, the moments you can have alone with nature. All gorgeously conveyed in this fun little form Merwin wanted to play with.

The companion section, Turning to You, does exactly that and for me it lacked a lot of the meaningfulness of the prior section. Maybe at this point Merwin was just better at describing his experiences alone, or maybe he was just too emotionally blinded by overwhelming feeling to generate anything other than dull awe.

from Dark Side:

If I were to talk of you
how would anyone know
what the words meant
-
you walk on a black road
brown water running beside you
eyes staring and the night coming with dark clouds
-
you smile standing
in the green waves in the sunlight
with your hands in your dark wet hair
-
some of what you
say to me I forget
but I remember you saying it in the dark
-
always I want
you to say
more

[Keith Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those atypical Merwin books that doesn't get the attention some others do. I think at times he would cast about looking for a style or a form that would absorb him for a moment. Here each poem is written in very short lined three stanza lines that follow each other to make a whole moment out of suggested lyrical moments from which the reader can construct a narrative. He is careful not to use the obvious conventions of the haiku, yet that is clearly the intention. Each piece could stand alone like in a renga, but combine to do something else entirely. It is interesting to note that he didn't publish these separately, like he did with almost all his poems. He just let this build into a whole. There is that building eroticism which became so much of his later work, an eroticism tied to the natural world (much like Neruda). I get the sense that he learned a lot about suggestive images here, a process he would go on to use masterfully.

[Byram · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d say this is pretty accessible to an extent, with all poems written as three-liners, with very literal natural descriptions with just enough hint of an underlying meaning to keep it interesting. The first collection of poems was pastoral in its feel of its description of nature, and the second set of poems got real spicy real fast. I loved his straight-forward style and his visceral descriptions, and especially the second part was hot af, but I would have rated it higher if there was a little more form experimentation and variety. Nonetheless, clearly a talented poet and I’d certainly read more of him

[Molly McGonagle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to be the dream
you feel
and the light you wake to

This was my first book of poetry by W.S. Merwin—I've only read his essays and prose. The book started and ended strong, but I took a while to get through the middle. The first bit of poems reminded me of home. While I was reading, I dreamt of being in the mountains, and I could feel the breeze on my skin. The middle was slower, and the format felt repetitive at that point. The second section of poems were very beautiful and intimate. I found myself adding notes to almost every poem.

[Kasandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being a fan of Merwin's later work, I eagerly looked forward to reading this, which came out in 1982. Suffice it to say, if I hadn't already come to love Merwin, I wouldn't have become a fan from this book. He sets his poems up like islands or strings of islands here, with each poem composed of 3-line stanzas. These are reminiscent of haiku in that they are brief and nature-focused in part 1. and erotically focused in part 2., but in both cases, only rarely do you get insight, wisdom, or surprise. The poems mostly seem a collection of beautiful images. Though I like the imagery here, the love poems seem both a bit gushy and overly impersonal (i.e. the lover is drawn in broad strokes). The nature poems are beautiful, certainly, but offer little to chew on or think about. This seems to be a book written by a poet still in the process of finding his voice. I could only find whole poems from this book in The Nation, which requires a subscription to view them, so here is a stanza I liked from "Island City":

One cricket starts up
in the still moonlight
and wakes the refrigerator

and here's a whole short poem that illustrates the beginner-feel of this volume, "February in the Valley":

It is winter still
but this morning while
we made love the rose opened
---
as we enter
the tender rapids
you look up and tell me you dreamed this

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressions of "Finding the Islands," by WS Merwin

In this collection, the poet presents powerful and vivid nature imagery as haiku-like vignettes, each one like a koan to reflect upon. Taken together, they present a narrative series that describes the experiential dimension of being human. Ultimately, it is a love story to a companion, to nature, and to life all at the same time.

A work like this will likely mean something very different to you each time you sample from its contents.

[Felicity]

Many of these poems have lovely images, and some of the turns in the love poems of the final section are unexpected and evocative. However, the limitations of form adopted here (all the poems are composed of three line stanzas) seems to limit the possibilities a bit as well.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Merwin's poetry blows me away. This particular book is about as personal as I've seen him -- romantic, erotic, soulful.

Whew.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't see this as some of his best work. Every poem is broken into three line stanzas in a way that I find mechanical, and the writing seems a bit too free associative. There are good bits, though.

[Lenley · Rating 5 out of 5]

More poems to read at a wedding than any other book on earth.

[Mills College Library]

811.54 M576f 1982