The Book of Fables, W.S. Merwin, Copper Canyon Press, 2007, 347 pp.
W.S. Merwin (1927-2019) was arguably one of the best poets of our time. He was a U.S. Poet Laureate, and winner of the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize in poetry. He published close to 30 books of poetry in his lifetime (and numerous translations) – even continuing to create poetry after he went blind in his 90s, narrating them to his wife.
Some may not know that he also published prose. This fairly recent book, “The Book of Fables”, has been on my shelf for a couple of years, and I just pulled it down again to revisit it, as I have not read every piece in it yet. I find it challenging, simply because its strangeness and brilliance tires me to read all at once.
It actually contains two of his previously published books of prose: “The Miner’s Pale Children” (1970), and “Houses and Travellers” (1977). I also have both of those original books, which are now torn and falling apart. So this new compilation was welcome.
To put it simply, these writings are astonishing. The back cover of the book says: “Like many of Merwin’s poems, his ‘fables’ plumb the depths of modern consciousness through the use of metaphor, and surrealist visions.”
One example from the book: Sometimes where you get it they wrap it up in a clock and you take it home with you and since you want to see it it takes you the rest of your life to unwrap it trying harder and harder to be quick which only makes the bells ring more often.
I recommend this book for any poet. It certainly humbled me.
W.S. Merwin (1927-2019) was arguably one of the best poets of our time. He was a U.S. Poet Laureate, and winner of the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize in poetry. He published close to 30 books of poetry in his lifetime (and numerous translations) – even continuing to create poetry after he went blind in his 90s, narrating them to his wife.
Some may not know that he also published prose. This fairly recent book, “The Book of Fables”, has been on my shelf for a couple of years, and I just pulled it down again to revisit it, as I have not read every piece in it yet. I find it challenging, simply because its strangeness and brilliance tires me to read all at once.
It actually contains two of his previously published books of prose: “The Miner’s Pale Children” (1970), and “Houses and Travellers” (1977). I also have both of those original books, which are now torn and falling apart. So this new compilation was welcome.
To put it simply, these writings are astonishing. The back cover of the book says: “Like many of Merwin’s poems, his ‘fables’ plumb the depths of modern consciousness through the use of metaphor, and surrealist visions.”
One example from the book: Sometimes where you get it they wrap it up in a clock and you take it home with you and since you want to see it it takes you the rest of your life to unwrap it trying harder and harder to be quick which only makes the bells ring more often.
I recommend this book for any poet. It certainly humbled me.
Last edited: