The Poetic World of William Carlos Williams
In the list of the world’s famous poets,
William Carlos Williams definitely fills in a spot. Williams was born in
Rutherford, New Jersey on September 17, 1883. He had written many poems
while attending Horrace Mann High School before he started an actual writing
career. He first studied medicine and was a country doctor. He got
his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania, and worked as a
pediatrician in his home town before publishing his poems in 1909. At the
University of Pennsylvania, he met a man named Ezra Pound who influenced
Williams’ writing greatly. Pound was
also a writer known for his curiosity in such a wide variety of ideas and
contemporaries. Pound also wrote plays and other writings, and that
influence also increased Williams’ dedication to writing. After that, not
only did Williams write poems, but he also wrote autobiographies and plays.
Pound’s influence made Williams’ ideas and writing as interesting as they
are until this very day.
Following Pound, Williams was one of the main poets of the Imagist movement. Although he got his influence upon Pound and Eliot, he soon started to disagree with the importance put into their writing. He thought they were too attached to European culture and tradition. Williams soon decided to take his poetry into his own hands and be free to write about what he cared for most; everyday circumstances of life and the lives of regular people. His passion for writing about these topics spread greatly throughout the twenties and thirties, and soon became an icon for younger writers such as Allen Ginsberg and the Beats.
Williams’ health started to turn into a tragedy when he had a heart attack in 1948, and many strokes following. Although this was a downfall for the inspiring writer, nothing would get in his way. He wrote and published many more poems and books until death brought upon him. Williams died in New Jersey in 1963, but still remains a wonderful icon for many rising writers and others.