W. S. Merwin | Criticism

This literature criticism consists of approximately 59 pages of analysis & critique of W. S. Merwin.

W. S. Merwin | Criticism

This literature criticism consists of approximately 59 pages of analysis & critique of W. S. Merwin.
This section contains 17,180 words
(approx. 58 pages at 300 words per page)
Buy the Interview by W. S. Merwin, Ed Folsom, and Cary Nelson

SOURCE: Merwin, W. S., Ed Folsom, and Cary Nelson. “‘Fact Has Two Faces’: An Interview with W. S. Merwin.”1 Iowa Review 13, no. 1 (winter 1982): 30-66.

In the following interview, originally conducted in 1981, Merwin discusses his feelings about Whitman and Thoreau, his use of language, and his development as a poet.

[Folsom]: You have rarely done interviews. Why?

[Merwin]: I gave one in Los Angeles about six years ago, with a couple of students who wanted to do one, but they hadn't prepared anything. I think that's one of the reasons for distrusting it. If the interviewers are unprepared or the questions are remote, you have to give a monologue to save the occasion. Then the risk is self-indulgence. The interviews we know well, I suppose, started with those in Paris Review, about twenty-five years ago. Then it became a very popular form, and I think it's been a happy...

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This section contains 17,180 words
(approx. 58 pages at 300 words per page)
Buy the Interview by W. S. Merwin, Ed Folsom, and Cary Nelson
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Interview by W. S. Merwin, Ed Folsom, and Cary Nelson from Gale. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.