Mr. Merwin on Poetry and environmental activism as posted by Brigitte Perreault
BP:Buddhism’s influence You have been a student of Buddhism for many, many years and still spend time in meditation every day. Planting palm trees, writing poetry, tending a garden are meditation in action. How has your practice informed your life? WM: Practice is attention to one’s own mind, and necessarily informs every aspect of my life. BP: Ecological issues Elizabeth Kolbert writes of the ‘Sixth Extinction’. Your poem ‘For a Coming Extinction’ was written in 1967. Do you still grow seed sand plant a tree? Is another poem forthcoming? WM: I no longer cultivate seeds, due to my poor eyesight. I do still plant a few trees. I have never known when or if there would be another poem. They come from the unknown. BP:Technology In our era of technological dependence and obsession, do you still write with a pen?
WM: Yes. BP:The future of the Conservancy How will the Merwin Conservancy create a space for young poets and artists in which they can pursue their creative visions? WM: We are working out connections with the community, with a series of poets, writers and naturalists who come and give talks and readings. BP:PERREAULT Magazine What would you like to tell our readers to inspire them to ‘get involved’? Would you like to tell them with a poem? WM: I would love it if The Merwin Conservancy led visitors to think, “I could do something like this,” and they began by planting a tree. I hope that all my poems encourage people to feel an intimate relation with every other form of life.