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William Carlos Williams (1883–1963)

Author of Selected Poems

177+ Works 8,061 Members 55 Reviews 43 Favorited

About the Author

Poet, artist, and practicing physician of Rutherford, New Jersey, William Carlos Williams wrote poetry that was experimental in form, ranging from imagism to objectivism, with great originality of idiom and human vitality. Credited with changing and directing American poetry toward a new metric and show more language, he also wrote a large number of short stories and novels. Paterson (1946--58), about the New Jersey city of that name, was his epic and places him with Ezra Pound of the Cantos as one of the great shapers of the long poem in this century. National recognition did not come early, but eventually Williams received many honors, including a vice-presidency of the National Institute of Arts and Letters (1952); the Bollingen Prize (1953); the $5,000 fellowship of the Academy of American Poets; the Loines Award for poetry of the National Institute of Arts and Letters (1948); and the Brandeis Award (1957). Book II of Paterson received the first National Book Award for poetry in 1949. Williams was named consultant in poetry in English to the Library of Congress for 1952--53. Williams's continuously inventive style anchored not only objectivism, the school to which he most properly belongs, but also a long line of subsequent poets as various as Robert Lowell, Frank O'Hara, and Allen Ginsberg. With Stevens, he forms one of the most important sources of a specifically American tradition of modernism. In addition to his earlier honors, Williams received two important awards posthumously, the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (1963) and the Gold Medal for Poetry from the National Institute of Arts and Letters (1963). (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Series

Works by William Carlos Williams

Selected Poems (1985) 1,127 copies
Paterson (1946) 986 copies
In the American Grain (1925) 511 copies
The Doctor Stories (1984) 326 copies
Imaginations (1971) 295 copies
White Mule (1967) 125 copies
Early Poems (1997) 104 copies
In the Money (1940) 61 copies
Build-Up (1952) 56 copies
Death the Barber (2018) 51 copies
The Great American Novel (1978) 37 copies
Embodiment of Knowledge (1974) 33 copies
A Voyage to Pagany (1970) 26 copies
Sour Grapes A Book of Poems (2004) 17 copies
The Use of Force 13 copies
The Tempers (2007) 13 copies
Journey to love (1955) 13 copies
Poemas (1985) 8 copies
Cuentos completos (2000) 7 copies
The broken span (1941) 6 copies
Poesía reunida (2017) 6 copies
Antologia Breve 4 copies
Paterson Book Five (1958) 4 copies
Love 4 copies
The Pink Church 4 copies
Paterson (Book One) (1946) 3 copies
Poesie 3 copies
Spóźniony śpiewak (2009) 3 copies
Poetry (2020) 3 copies
Gedichte (1999) 3 copies
Even dit gedichten (2006) 3 copies
John Marin (1956) 3 copies
Selected poems (1949) 3 copies
Antologia Breve 2 copies
The Wedge 2 copies
Paterson, Book 3 (1949) 2 copies
Dikter (1974) 2 copies
Paterson (Book Four) (1951) 2 copies
Die Romane (2001) 1 copy
New Republic 1 copy
Filles de fermiers (2011) 1 copy
Paterson (Book Two) (1940) 1 copy
Sappho 1 copy
New Directions Eleven (1949) 1 copy
The Dance 1 copy
The Clouds 1 copy
White Women (1997) 1 copy
Seçme Şiirler (2019) 1 copy
The cod head 1 copy
Viaje al amor (2009) 1 copy
Many Loves 1 copy

Associated Works

Howl and Other Poems (1956) — Introduction — 5,440 copies
The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms (2000) — Contributor — 1,228 copies
The Poems of Francois Villon (1960) — Introduction, some editions — 1,028 copies
Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama (1995) — Contributor, some editions — 902 copies
The Oxford Book of American Short Stories (1992) — Contributor — 730 copies
Short Story Masterpieces (1954) — Contributor — 659 copies
The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry (1999) — Contributor — 583 copies
The Best Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis (2001) — Contributor — 537 copies
A Pocket Book of Modern Verse (1954) — Contributor, some editions — 435 copies
Fifty Great American Short Stories (1965) — Contributor — 420 copies
The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart: A Poetry Anthology (1992) — Contributor — 383 copies
City Lights Pocket Poets Anthology (1995) — Contributor — 345 copies
Baseball: A Literary Anthology (2002) — Contributor — 330 copies
The Faber Book of Modern Verse (1936) — Contributor, some editions — 283 copies
Writing New York: A Literary Anthology (1998) — Contributor — 274 copies
The 40s: The Story of a Decade (2014) — Contributor — 266 copies
The Literary Cat (1977) — Contributor — 239 copies
Howl, Kaddish and Other Poems (Penguin Modern Classics) (1980) — Introduction, some editions — 215 copies
The Art of Losing (2010) — Contributor — 191 copies
Last Nights Of Paris (1928) — Translator, some editions — 163 copies
American Religious Poems: An Anthology (2006) — Contributor — 160 copies
Imagist Poetry (Penguin Modern Classics) (1972) — Contributor — 158 copies
Writers at Work 03 (1967) — Interviewee — 139 copies
Imagist Poetry: An Anthology (1999) — Contributor — 136 copies
The Faber Book of Beasts (1997) — Contributor — 136 copies
The Norton Book of Travel (1987) — Contributor — 109 copies
Emergency Kit (1996) — Contributor, some editions — 107 copies
The Imagist Poem (1963) — Contributor, some editions — 98 copies
Twentieth-Century American Poetry (1777) — Contributor — 93 copies
A Life in Medicine: A Literary Anthology (2002) — Contributor — 80 copies
Gods and Mortals: Modern Poems on Classical Myths (1684) — Contributor — 68 copies
Surrealist Painters and Poets: An Anthology (2001) — Contributor — 66 copies
The Hungry Ear: Poems of Food and Drink (2012) — Contributor — 62 copies
The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature (2010) — Contributor — 57 copies
Art of Fiction (1967) — Contributor — 50 copies
Lament for the Makers: A Memorial Anthology (1996) — Contributor — 49 copies
Empty mirror; early poems (1961) — Introduction, some editions — 48 copies
The Ecopoetry Anthology (2013) — Contributor — 47 copies
The Experience of the American Woman (1978) — Contributor — 47 copies
A Quarto of Modern Literature (1935) — Contributor — 38 copies
60 Years of American Poetry (1996) — Contributor — 28 copies
American short novels (1960) — Contributor — 27 copies
American short stories, 1820 to the present (1952) — Contributor — 26 copies
The Roman Sonnets of Giuseppe Gioachino Belli (1960) — some editions — 25 copies
One World of Literature (1992) — Contributor — 22 copies
Studies in Fiction (1965) — Contributor — 22 copies
William Carlos Williams: A Collection of Critical Essays (1966) — Contributor, some editions — 21 copies
20th Century American Short Stories, Volume 1 (1995) — Contributor — 16 copies
Twentieth-Century American Short Stories: An Anthology (1975) — Contributor — 16 copies
Poetry in Crystal (1963) — Contributor — 14 copies
Leaves of Grass One Hundred Years After (1955) — Contributor — 12 copies
Of Leaf and Flower: Stories and Poems for Gardeners (2001) — Contributor — 11 copies
Great Tales of City Dwellers (1955) — Contributor — 8 copies
The Short Story & You (1987) — Contributor — 7 copies
Des Imagistes: An Anthology (1914) — Contributor — 7 copies
Case-Record from a Sonnetorium (1951) — Contributor — 6 copies
Jean Sans Terre (1936) — Translator, some editions — 5 copies
The Paris Review 32 1964 Summer-Fall (1964) — Contributor — 4 copies
Cricket Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 2, October 1977 (1977) — Contributor — 4 copies
Wives and Lovers — Contributor — 3 copies
Enjoying Stories (1987) — Contributor — 2 copies
Stories of Sudden Truth (1953) — Contributor — 1 copy
The PL book of modern American short stories (1945) — Contributor — 1 copy
Contact collection of contemporary writers — Contributor, some editions — 1 copy
The Best of American Poetry [Audio] (1997) — Contributor — 1 copy
Direction, Vol 1 No 1 (Autumn 1934) — Contributor — 1 copy
Direction Vol.1 No.3 (April-June 1935) — Contributor — 1 copy
THE GOLDEN GOOSE. NUMBER ONE. SUMMER 1948 (1948) — Contributor — 1 copy

Tagged

20th century (316) America (60) American (318) American literature (432) American poetry (176) anthology (1,150) baseball (97) beat (283) Beat Generation (99) cats (100) classics (52) collection (113) English (60) essays (193) fiction (737) French (82) French literature (83) history (100) Library of America (152) literary criticism (102) literature (697) modernism (116) New Directions (62) New York (58) non-fiction (301) own (88) poems (117) poetics (56) poetry (5,957) poetry anthology (95) read (134) reference (76) short stories (478) textbook (74) to-read (730) travel (52) unread (80) USA (99) William Carlos Williams (87) writing (107)

Common Knowledge

Members

Reviews

Reading Books I-IV (especially Book II) was the most exciting, energetic, and formally refreshing reading experience I've had, I think, ever. I haven't been this convinced on the merits and distinctions of poetry since I read Ondaatje's The Collected Poems of Billy the Kid. Paterson feels like something one re-enters half a dozen times in their lifetime. I feel like carrying it around like a bible.
1 vote
Flagged
biblioclair | 6 other reviews | Jun 20, 2023 |
This Is Just To Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

William Carlos Williams

- - -

A small collection of poems by William Carlos Williams. Due to my low control of English, I was scared by the size and complexity of the actual books of him (like Paterson or others), so I guess this was the right choice for starting to appreciate the simple, clear grace of this amazing poet.
… (more)
 
Flagged
d.v. | May 16, 2023 |
La gran novela americana (1923) es una novela experimental de William Carlos Williams. Aunque se le conoce sobre todo como poeta, Williams amplió con frecuencia los límites de la prosa a lo largo de su carrera. En la década decisiva del modernismo, Williams intentó probar la llamada “Gran Novela Americana”, un concepto que alimentó un apasionado debate en los círculos académicos y artísticos de todo el país. Lejos de ser convencional, la novela de Williams es una incursión metaficcional en asuntos más posmodernos que modernos, un comentario disfrazado de narración y una sátira de la excesiva dependencia de los clichés en forma y contenido. “Si hay progreso, hay novela. Sin progreso no hay nada. Todo existe desde el principio. Yo existía al principio. Yo era un bebé baboso. Hoy he visto hierbas sin nombre… He golpeado la tierra con el nudillo. Sonaba a hueco. Estaba seca como el caucho. Eones de sequía. No ha llovido en quince días. No ha llovido. Nunca ha llovido. Nunca lloverá”. La novela de Williams comienza con la palabra y un nacimiento. El lenguaje describe la experiencia de despertar a la experiencia, de llegar a la conciencia como un ser vivo en un mundo vivo. Utilizando palabras del habla cotidiana, construye una novela a partir de observaciones, un libro que permanece consciente de sí mismo en todo momento. Al igual que el niño cuya primera experiencia con la palabra escrita suele provenir de nombres y eslóganes extendidos sobre camiones y vallas publicitarias, el lector acaba aceptando su nueva realidad, un mundo en el que la gente ama y triunfa y fracasa, en el que la historia y el arte interceden para dar sentido a lo que pueden. La Gran Novela Americana muestra la forma experimental de Williams, estirando el significado de “novela” hasta su límite más lejano.… (more)
 
Flagged
nastarovia | Dec 15, 2022 |
I know some people like this sort of thing, but Modernist poetry is... not for me.

The poem in its entirety is...

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.
 
Flagged
BooksbyStarlight | Oct 25, 2022 |

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