Caption: W. S. Merwin
W. S. Merwin 

The 17th U. S. Poet Laureate, W. S. Merwin

Series: New Letters on the Air
From: New Letters on the Air
Length: 00:29:00

A celebration of American poetry with the most recent United States Poet Laureate, W.S. Merwin. In this archive interview with fellow poet, H.L. Hix, he talks about his environmental concerns and reads poetry about his longtime home of Hawaii. Read the full description.

Merwin-ws_small W.S. Merwin recently ended his term as the 17th U.S. Poet Laureate.  With a career spanning more than 60 years, Merwin has won nearly every major literary honor, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry twice--in 1971 and again in 2009.  Poet and scholar, H. L. Hix, author of UNDERSTANDING W.S. MERWIN, talks with the poet about his poetry and his interest in the natural environment and native peoples. A long-time resident of Hawaii, Merwin's interest in the preservation of the islands' ecology and culture are evident in readings from his 1999 book,THE RIVER SOUND, as well his 1998 novel-in-verse, THE FOLDING CLIFFS, a fact-based fictional tale of Hawaii's tragic 19th century history.

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Piece Description

W.S. Merwin recently ended his term as the 17th U.S. Poet Laureate.  With a career spanning more than 60 years, Merwin has won nearly every major literary honor, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry twice--in 1971 and again in 2009.  Poet and scholar, H. L. Hix, author of UNDERSTANDING W.S. MERWIN, talks with the poet about his poetry and his interest in the natural environment and native peoples. A long-time resident of Hawaii, Merwin's interest in the preservation of the islands' ecology and culture are evident in readings from his 1999 book,THE RIVER SOUND, as well his 1998 novel-in-verse, THE FOLDING CLIFFS, a fact-based fictional tale of Hawaii's tragic 19th century history.

Broadcast History

This program originally uplinked to PRSS' Content Depot on July 1, 2011 for delivery to member stations.

Timing and Cues

PROMO: Next time on New Letters on the Air... America's most recent poet laureate, W.S. Merwin. Listen to this archive interview with fellow poet H.L. Hix that reveals Merwin's love for his adopted home, Hawaii, and it's fragile environment and culture. Listen to the poetry of W.S. Merin, the 17th U.S. Poet Laureate on the next NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR...
UPLINK DATE: 07/01/2011
PROGRAM LENGTH: 29:00 minutes
INCUE: (music) "Today, we celebrate American poetry on NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR with W.S. Merwin..."
OUTCUE: "I'm Angela Elam for NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR."

Additional Credits

New Letters on the Air is a production of the quarterly literary magazine, New Letters, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Partial financial support comes from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

Related Website

http://www.newletters.org/ontheair.asp