Migration: New & Selected Poems

Even though I'm reading the hardcover, I wrapthe wonderful, wise words of W.S. Merwin around me.His poems infuse my life with an even keener sense of appreciating the "now."His words keep me in constant contact with my sense of responsibility for our planet.He's an inspiration for taking action to preserve, conserve, and plant trees, as well asrecognizing the magnitude of the impact that each being carries. The geese, all animals,relationships, taking better care of the earth and each other,as well as experiencing the sorrows and the joys in life.He is dedicated to the craft of poetry and its vital role of importance in our lives.I wish I could thank him in person, but since that's not realistic, I will continueto do my best to honor him in my own way, by taking time to observe,experience, appreciate, write, take action, and reflect upon the beauty in the worldand making the most of each moment. Carpe Diem!

it's a hardback and it's in great condition. apparently it's a library book that has been in more than one sale, at one point someone had put a price of fifty cents on it. it's sad that arguably one of the better modern writers did not find a permanent home but that meant a great deal for me. also, i hope the reason the book started its journey wasn't because the library folded but that might explain why the book left the shelves to begin with.

If one volume could sum up adequately W.S. Merwin's artistic development and illustrate his place in American literature with some justice, "Migration" does the job. At least as importantly, it gives us the poet's own opinion on the poems for which he might want to be remembered, much as Nathaniel Tarn inspired Pablo Neruda to do in the selection of Neruda's poems that Tarn oversaw. I bought "Migration" at roughly the same time as  The First Four Books of Poems  and  The Second Four Books of Poems  and cross-referenced his selection from those titles in "Migration" against the whole. While I still have one or two favorites that did not make the cut, I found the choices he made consistently better-inspired and more timeless than the poems that surrounded them (though overall Merwin has remained a consistent and astonishingly fine craftsman throughout his career). For those who want to go further back than Merwin's more recent books for Copper Canyon Press should not be disappointed.

Though the title impied there were new poems in this volume, I found some of my favorites, butdidn't notice any new ones. Never mind, they are wonderful, and I liked this book so much, I purchaseda copy for a friend and published poet, who's poet in the schools, Grace Grafton, who is familiar with Merwin's writing. That made both of us happy.On a practical level, it is easier to schlep a single volume with you than three of four,when what youwant is 'La crême de la crême.'Makes a welcome addition to any collection, a great gift to introduce Merwin, and a pleasure to readthe smooth, ariculate poetry that is food for the soul.Antoinette Constable

I read one poem by Merwin on [...] which reminded me how much I love his poetry. And that poem(title: Spring Lost?) moved me to get this beautiful book of poems. His poems nourish my spirit and soul. I don't know what I would do without poetry and W.S. Merwin is a master of his craft and the rich substance within.Rachelle Benveniste

So very excellent, that you don't even mind the few dozen boring poems included.

A gift for my poetry writer husband. It was very appreciated and so happy it was signed.

Merwin's journey to maturity can be experienced. A sometimes arduous journey but with many viewpoints of inspiration.

I was aware of Merwin as someone vaguely in the Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath grouping back in the Sixties, but I was not aware he had done very much as a poet till I recently came across the fairly short Selected Poems that Bloodaxe published. This led me to buy Migration, which is a very substantial Selected published in the States, virtually an edited Collected.I am deeply impressed, as I have been by very few American poets of the last thirty or forty years. There is a constantly developing style and subjects that rarely repeat. There is an awareness of the world perceived through the mind, which makes for a quality of imagination that is rare in modern writing and perhaps owes something to an interest in Eastern religion. One book, The Vixen, with its long lines hinting at a memory of Latin Elegiac writing, but full of very unRoman imagination stands out for me, but pretty well everything here is above the average of its time. It seems extraordinary that there has never been an English edition of this fine book.

Beautiful.

If you have never had the pleasure of reading W.S. Merwin's poetry, here is your chance. For my money, he is the finest North American poet still writing:For the Anniversary of My DeathEvery year without knowing it I have passed the dayWhen the last fires will wave to meAnd the silence will set outTireless travellerLike the beam of a lightless starThen I will no longerFind myself in life as in a strange garmentSurprised at the earthAnd the love of one womanAnd the shamelessness of menAs today writing after three days of rainHearing the wren sing and the falling ceaseAnd bowing not knowing to what 1967I find his stuff incantatory. Get this book!