Poets & Writers Theater

“It would be silly to waste time daydreaming about, if only I were twenty years old again. It’s more interesting to figure out, how do I see the world now.” In this 2015 PBS NewsHour video, the late W. S. Merwin reflects on growing old and writing poems on the three acres of land he purchased in the late 1970s, now known as the Merwin Conservancy, an arts and ecology organization located on the island of Maui.

“Look at the old house in the dawn rain / all the flowers are forms of water…” In this excerpt from the documentary Even Though the Whole World Is Burning, the late W. S. Merwin reads his poem “Rain Light.” Merwin’s final collection, Garden Time (Copper Canyon Press, 2016), was featured in Page One in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

"Poetry begins with hearing...begins with hearing the sounds of passion." In this first feature documentary of poet laureate W. S. Merwin, the poet and environmental activist shares his work and life. The film, directed by Stefan Schaefer, is available on VOD or DVD with a portion of the proceeds supporting the Merwin Conservancy.

The poet and environmental activist talks about Thoreau's concept of "wildness" in this clip from Even Though the Whole World Is Burning, a documentary-in-progress directed by Stefan Schaefer and produced by Williams Cole.

The poet laureate recently discussed his new position on the PBS NewsHour. "It's a more public position and role and so forth than I normally would like," says Merwin, whose most recent book, The Shadow of Sirius, won the Pulitzer Prize.