W.S. Merwin came to Emory University Monday night to chat about poets he's known and recite a few poems. In a "conversation" with Emory star poet Kevin Young, Merwin talked about encounters with W. H. Auden, Ezra Pound, Anne Sexton and Ted Hughes, among others - his unkind recollections of Sylvia Plath might have startled her followers. While his memories engaged the audience that filled the wood-paneled Jones Room at the Woodruff Library, the TV talk show format emphasized a kind of gossip over the art of poetry. His anecdotes retraced fairly well-known territory; since I am not that familiar with Merwin's work, I would have preferred to hear more poems.
Merwin's admirable environmental activism and opposition to the Vietnam War were main themes. He recalled refusing to sign a loyalty oath to give a reading at the University of Buffalo during the Vietnam Era. In a place named for Robert Woodruff, Mr. Coca-Cola, and at a university built by profits of the soft drink giant, he discussed the destruction of the world's rainforests. He also decried the deaths caused by American wars, while Young and he several times made references to Emory's collection of rare poetry books, also the result of money and power.
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