Migration by W.S. Merwin (2005)

W.S. MERWIN:
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
IS A SCRANTON NATIVE

Poet W.S. Merwin, who grew up in Scranton, PA, has been nominated for the 2005 National Book Award for Poetry for his collection Migration: New and Selected Poems. This is the eighth National Book Award nomination for W.S. Merwin, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner (1971 for The Carrier of Ladders and again in 2009 for The Shadow of Sirius) whose career as a poet and translator spans five decades.

As a boy, Merwin lived in Scranton before his family moved to Union City, NJ. He attended West Scranton High School and Abraham Lincoln public school in the city of Scranton. He has said many of his poems were drawn from his childhood here. Merwin returned to Scranton in 1983 to read from his works in a poetry series sponsored by the Friends of the Scranton Public Library.

We have several of Mr. Merwin's poetry collection listed in the library catalog. Our Local History collection in the Reference Department includes a newspaper clippings file on Mr. Merwin, including a 1994 Scranton Times article detailing his winning a $100,000 Tanning Prize from the Academy of American Poets.

The Reference Department staff wishes Mr. Merwin the best of luck in his nomination for the National Book Award.

UPDATE: W.S. Merwin has been awarded the National Book Award for poetry.

The Reference Department congratulates Mr. Merwin on his award. Also, check out the display in the Reference Department lobby.

Visit here for W.S. Merwin's page on the official National Book Award site.

To place a hold on W.S. Merwin's Migration, click here.