SUMMATIVE: William Carlos Williams in 90 Seconds
William Carlos Williams was born on September 17, 1883, in Rutherford, New Jersey. He was an American poet whose style of writing focused on imagism and modernism throughout his career. Other styles he experimented with were terza rima and free verse. He was notorious for expressing his extraordinary perceptions of ordinary surroundings.
By day, Williams was a pediatrician at the Passaic General Hospital in Passaic, New Jersey. He worked there as the chief of the hospital until his death. The hospital, now renamed as St. Mary’s General Hospital, made a plaque honoring Williams. The plaque reads “we walk the wards that Williams walked”.
At Horace Mann High School, Williams was involved in math and science classes. Later in high school, he expressed interest in reading books and writing poetry, thus discovering his lifelong love for language. He then decided he was going to become a doctor and a poet.
Williams was a very eccentric, creative and determined person with natural leadership qualities. He constantly strived for personal freedom of his thoughts and actions, and was impatient when he didn’t obtain immediate rewards. He would often make himself appear happy and successful, even if that wasn’t the truth.
Williams’ biggest influence, Ezra Pound, helped him publish his collection of poems, “The Tempers”, in 1913. Later on, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in poetry for his poem, “Pictures from Brueghel”, in 1963. One of his most popular poems is called “The Red Wheelbarrow”, which exemplifies his imagism style.
Interestingly enough, his father’s mother was named Emily Dickinson.
Williams died in New Jersey on March 4th, 1963 after battling a heart attack and a series of strokes. The regression of his health didn’t stop him from writing poetry until his death.
The Red Wheelbarrow
so much depends upon
a red wheel barrow
glazed with rain water
beside the white chickens.