Pulitzer Prize winners for Letters, Drama and Music 2009 announced today are listed here in the New York Times. Among them is W. S. Merwin for his extraordinary collection of poetry The Shadow of Sirius.
One of my favorites in the collection, etching unforgettable images/sounds, “An Empty Lot” about the “long dusty patch/ of high ragweed” owned by a coal company that:
would do nothing with it but keep it
in case they ever should need to sink
an emergency shaft to miners
in trouble below there nobody could say
how far down…
I’ve been reading this collection slowly over the past month, savoring each poem. This is an extraordinarily rich gathering of thought about memory, the past, nostalgia, what has been, what could be.
From the publisher’s page, here’s the poem “Trail Marker.” Others are available — look for the link that says, “Read and share a poem from this book.”
This page was updated 2.25.12 to correct broken links.
The Longest Chapter 