The River Sound: Poems

by W.S. Merwin

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and “one of the greatest poets of our age … the Thoreau of our era” (Edward Hirsch) comes a masterly work of poems, exhibiting the artistry and style he made his own.

A strikingly beautiful book of poems from one of our finest poets. To his lyrics Merwin adds three long narrative "Lament for the Makers" is his tribute to fellow poets who are gone and who had his admiration, from Dylan Thomas to James Merrill; "Testimony" is a tour de force, an autobiographical poem in the manner of Francois Villon; "Suite in the Key of Forgetting" is a remarkable poem about memory and memories.

Genres: Poetry

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

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

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I eagerly waited to read this on vacation, along my beloved ocean, the place where rivers flow to; but was very disappointed. There is obvious skill and creativity here, and it was really hard to type the poems that did speak to me which showed me how intricate and creative his words and thoughts are, but none of his imagery made me breathless. A few copied below made me stop and pause and think, but overall I was underwhelmed. I may have to try again someday.

Whoever You Are

By now when you say I stop somewhere waiting for you
Who is the I and who come to that is you

There are those words that were written a long time ago
By someone I have read about who they assure me is you

The handwriting is still running over the pages
But the one who has disappeared from the script is you

I wonder what age you were when those words came to you
Though I think it is not any age at all that is you

Stopping and waiting under the soles of my feet
This morning this waking this looking up is you

But nothing has stopped in fact and I do not know
What is waiting and surely that also is you

Every time you say it you seem to be speaking
Through me to some me not yet there who is I suppose is you

You said you were stopping and waiting before I was here
Maybe the one I heard say it then is you

The Old Year

I remember the light
At the end of the year
The gold mist is still bright
Thousand of miles from here

And voices are calling
Across the steep meadows
Until the late falling
Asleep of their echoes

Less than a breath before
The silence where they are
The bare veined limbs are
More clear than ever but far

Testimony

...though I have sipped the rim by now
Of trouble and should know the taste
I am not certain as to how
The pain of learning what is lost
Is transformed into light at last
Some it illumines from their birth
And some will hunger to the last
For the moment and hands of earth

While some apparently would give
The open unrepeatable
Present in which they wake and live
To glimpse a place where they were small
Or in love once and be able
To capture in that second sight
What in the plain original
They missed and this time get it right

They would know how to hold it there
A still life still alive and know
What to do with it now and where
To hang it and how not to go
From there again...

[Stephen Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid book of poetry. Lament for the Makers and Suite in the Key of Forgetting are both longer poems that I really liked. Testimony is a long autobiographical poem and it might be a little too long, honestly.

[Corin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, contemplative book of poetry exploring concepts of time, memory, and nature. Due to the characteristic lack of punctuation, Merwin’s work flows endlessly like water from start to finish.

[Conor Flynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Th epic bio poem is personal yet epic, but there’s not much else to like here. His Rain on Trees is, I think, his best work (uneven as that book is….)

[Jennifer Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enchanting and careful, the poems here are explorations of memory, of nature, and of identity as it might perhaps be understood while it is still being formed, and experienced. Merwin's poems are lyrical and rhythmic, and those that speak with a strain of the blues are some of the strongest here, ringing with the movement of rivers and wind. The three longer narrative poems are also stand-outs--particularly "Suite in the Key of Forgetting", which I found myself returning to again and again, and which I'll surely return to in the future.

Calm as the poems are, the collection still floats along with an inner tension, and I'd recommend it to any poetry lover without hesitation.

[Ann-marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled through the long poem, "Testimony". When I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Merwin (yes, I don't have the courage to call him "Bill")I confessed this to him. He told me a hint and well, still. . .

[Kylie Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I love Merwin, this is not one of my favorite collections. The epic poem Testimony dragged the whole thing down. It was too long to be put in the middle of the collection. It threw off the flow of the whole book.