William Merwin is a poet, credited with over fifty books of poetry, translation and prose. During the 1960s, Merwin’s work was thematically characterized by indirect, unpunctuated narration. In the 1980s and 1990s, Merwin’s writing influence derived from his interest in Buddhist philosophy and deep ecology. Merwin has received many honors, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (in both 1971 and 2009), the National Book Award for Poetry (2005) and the Tanning Prize, one of the highest honors bestowed by the Academy of American Poets. In 2010, the Library of Congress named Merwin the seventeenth United States Poet Laureate. Residing in Hawaii, he writes prolifically and is dedicated to the restoration of the islands’ rainforests.