William Meredith (1919 – 30 May 07) Poet William Meredith has died at the age of 88. His name and poetry were unfamiliar to me until reading his obituary in The New York Times (01 Jun 07). It seems he was a past U.S. Poet laureate as well as a Pulitzer Prize winner.
Certain facts about his life caught my attention in the newspaper’s sizeable obituary.
First off, “he served as a Navy flier in World War II. He re-enlisted in the Korean War, receiving two Air Medals for his service.” Voluntary military service is not something I normally associated with a poet.
Next, “Mr. Meredith became interested in the work of contemporary Bulgarian poets, at the time little known in the United States.” Bulgarian poets? Not a common interest in the United States.
Further, “With his life partner, Richard Harteis, he edited a volume of Bulgarian poetry translated into English, Window on the Black Sea, published in 1992.” So, it would seem that he was openly gay. Gay and involved in a long-term relationship with another poet. Interestingly, an old-fashioned slang code word for gay men was “Bulgarians.”
Then, an event that is the stuff of dreams, or nightmares. “In 1983, Mr. Meredith had a stroke that left him immobilized for the next two years. It also left him with expressive aphasia, the ability to produce language only with great effort, if at all.” What could be worse for a poet, than to lose the ability to produce language?
But this nightmare has a happy ending. “He underwent intensive therapy … Little by little, he regained much of his lost language skills. In 1997, Mr. Meredith received a National Book Award for a new collection of poems, Effort at Speech.”
The following quoted verse written by the poet deals masterfully with the dreamful and nightmarish aspect of being alive.
(Why can’t our dreams be content
with the terrible facts?
The only animal cursed with
responsible sleep.
We trace disaster always to our
own acts.
I met a monstrous self trapped in
the black deep:
All these years, he smiled, I’ve
drilled at sea
For this crush of water. Then he
saved only me.)
Thank goodness our dreams can’t - and won't - be content with the terrible facts!
Lai Jums vieglas smiltis, Mr. Meredith! May the sands of eternity rest lightly upon you!