W.S. Merwin

2004-2005: W. S. Merwin W. S. Merwin came to campus in the spring of 2005. Merwin is a poet, translator, and environmental activist who lives on the island of Maui. His first book, A Mask for Janus, was selected for the Yale Younger Poets series, and his collection The Carrier of Ladders was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Migration: Selected Poems 1951-2001 won the National Book Award and the Ambassador Book Award and was named as one of the 100 Notable Books of the Year by the New York Times. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Merwin has been awarded the Tanning Prize, the Bollingen Prize, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, and a Lannan Lifetime Achievement Award.