William Carlos Williams (1883–1963)
Author of Selected Poems
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
Image credit: From Wikipedia
Series
Works by William Carlos Williams
Collected Stories of William Carlos Williams (New Directions Paperbook, Ndp827) (1996) — Author — 67 copies
Penguin Modern Poets 9: Denise Levertov, Kenneth Rexroth, William Carlos Williams (1967) — Author — 63 copies
By Word of Mouth: Poems from the Spanish, 1916-1959 (Bilingual Edition) (New Directions Paperbook) (2011) 13 copies
The Use of Force 13 copies
Something to Say: William Carlos Williams on Younger Poets (William Carlos Williams Archive Series) (1985) 12 copies
Interviews With William Carlos Williams: "Speaking Straight Head" (New Directions Book) (1976) 6 copies
The humane particulars : the collected letters of William Carlos Williams and Kenneth Burke (2003) 6 copies
Life along the Passaic river 5 copies
Antologia Breve 4 copies
Love 4 copies
The Pink Church 4 copies
Patterson [ books 1 - 6 ] 4 copies
Poesie 3 copies
Paterson (Books One and Two) 3 copies
The Red Wheelbarrow 3 copies
Antologia Breve 2 copies
The Wedge 2 copies
Molti amori un sogno d'amore 2 copies
Adam & Eve & The City 2 copies
Illuminations : images by Oriole Farb Feshbach for the poem "Asphodel, that greeny flower" by William Carlos Williams (1991) 2 copies
Antologia bilingue / Bilingual Anthology: Poesia / Poetry (Spanish and English Edition) (2009) 2 copies
This Is Just to Say 2 copies
Molti amori, Un sogno d'amore 2 copies
La tecnica dell'immaginario 1 copy
“The Young Housewife” 1 copy
The Poetry of William Carlos Williams : It Is Difficult to Get the News from Poems yet Men Die Miserably Every Day for… (2017) 1 copy
“To a Poor Old Woman” 1 copy
La Mule blanche 1 copy
Scènes et portraits 1 copy
Hudba pouště 1 copy
La gran novela Americana 1 copy
W. C. Williams, Poesie 1 copy
Izabrane pesme 1 copy
The Descent of Winter 1 copy
Manikin Number Two, Go Go 1 copy
New Republic 1 copy
Die Neuentdeckung Amerikas. Geschichte in Geschichten. Mit einem Nachwort von Walter Hasenclever. (1969) 1 copy
Sappho 1 copy
The Dance 1 copy
The Clouds 1 copy
The Yachts [poem] 1 copy
The cod head 1 copy
The fistula of the law 1 copy
Howl and Other Poems 1 copy
Paterson Books 3,4,5 1 copy
Many Loves 1 copy
Associated Works
The Best Poems of the English Language: From Chaucer Through Robert Frost (2004) — Contributor — 1,014 copies
Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama (1995) — Contributor, some editions — 902 copies
American Poetry: The Twentieth Century, Volume One: Henry Adams to Dorothy Parker (2000) — Contributor — 425 copies
Howl, Kaddish and Other Poems (Penguin Modern Classics) (1980) — Introduction, some editions — 215 copies
From Totems to Hip-Hop: A Multicultural Anthology of Poetry Across the Americas 1900-2002 (2002) — Contributor — 171 copies
The Lincoln Anthology: Great Writers on His Life and Legacy from 1860 to Now (2008) — Contributor — 150 copies
Poetry Speaks Expanded: Hear Poets Read Their Own Work from Tennyson to Plath (2007) — Contributor — 147 copies
The Sophisticated Cat: A Gathering of Stories, Poems, and Miscellaneous Writings About Cats (1992) — Contributor — 99 copies
Writing New York: A Literary Anthology (Expanded 10th-Anniversary Edition) (2008) — Contributor — 92 copies
Gentlemen, Scholars and Scoundrels: A Treasury of the Best of Harper's Magazine from 1850 to the Present (1959) — Contributor — 55 copies
Out of the Best Books: An Anthology of Literature, Vol. 2: Love, Marriage, and the Family (1966) — Contributor — 38 copies
William Carlos Williams: A Collection of Critical Essays (1966) — Contributor, some editions — 21 copies
Remembering William Carlos Williams (New Directions Paperbook Original, Ndp811) (1995) — Subject — 19 copies
Sunlight on the River: Poems About Paintings, Paintings About Poems (2015) — Contributor — 10 copies
New World Writing: Fifth Mentor Selection - Fiction, Drama, Poetry, Criticism (1954) — Contributor — 8 copies
New World Writing: Eighth Mentor Selection - A New Adventure in Modern Reading (1955) — Contributor; Contributor — 7 copies
The Dog & the Fever : A Perambulatory Novella by Don Francisco de Quevedo who Published under the Name of Pedro… (1954) — Translator, some editions — 7 copies
Imagist anthology, 1930 : poems by Richard Aldington, John Cournos, H.D., John Gould Fletcher, F.S. Flint, Ford Madox… — Contributor — 4 copies
American poets, an anthology of contemporary verse — Contributor — 4 copies
Wives and Lovers — Contributor — 3 copies
The Best Short Stories of 1929 and the Yearbook of the American Short Story (1929) — Contributor — 3 copies
Contact collection of contemporary writers — Contributor, some editions — 1 copy
Direction, Vol 1 No 1 (Autumn 1934) — Contributor — 1 copy
32 Współczesne Opowiadania Amerykańskie - Tom I — Contributor — 1 copy
Direction Vol.1 No.3 (April-June 1935) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1883-09-17
- Date of death
- 1963-03-04
- Burial location
- Hillside Cemetery, Lyndhurst, New Jersey, USA
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Rutherford, New Jersey, USA
- Place of death
- Rutherford, New Jersey, USA
- Places of residence
- Paterson, New Jersey, USA
New York, New York, USA
Rutherford, New Jersey, USA
Paris, France
Switzerland - Education
- Lycée Condorcet, Paris, France
Horace Mann High School, New York
University of Pennsylvania ( [1906])
University of Leipzig (postgraduate study) - Occupations
- physician
poet
novelist
short-story writer
essayist
playwright (show all 9)
translator
lyricist
librettist - Relationships
- Williams, Raquel Helene (mother)
Pound, Ezra (friend)
H. D. (friend) - Organizations
- The Imagists
American Academy of Arts and Letters
National Institute of Arts and Letters
Academy of American Poets
Bergen County New Jersey Medical Association
Bread Loaf School of English - Awards and honors
- Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress (1952)
Gold Medal for Poetry, National Institute of Arts and Letters
Bollingen Prize (1952)
Dial Award (1926)
LL.D., University of Buffalo
LL.D., Fairleigh Dickinson University (show all 14)
Litt.D., Rutgers University
Litt.D., Bard College
Litt.D., University of Pennsylvania
Levinson Prize
Oscar Blumenthal Prize
Fellowship, Academy of American Poets
Russell Loines Memorial Award for poetry from National Institute of Arts and Letters
Brandeis University creative arts medal
Members
Reviews
Paterson (New Directions Paperback 806 806) by William Carlos Williams
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 
biblioclair | 6 other reviews | Jun 20, 2023 |
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)
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)
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)
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.
The poem in its entirety is...
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
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Statistics
- Works
- 177
- Also by
- 99
- Members
- 8,061
- Popularity
- #3,003
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 55
- ISBNs
- 239
- Languages
- 11
- Favorited
- 43
- Touchstones
- 80
