This Fiftieth Anniversary edition celebrates one of the most ground-breaking books in American poetry. When first published in 1967, W.S. Merwin s The Lice was ground-breaking. Its visionary urgency directly engaged the nexus of aesthetics and morality, exerting an immediate and lasting effect on the writing and reading of poetry. Like all great art, this monumental work continues to inspire.

As Merwin discussed in an interview, The Lice was written at a time when I really felt there was no point in writing. I got to the point where I thought the future was so bleak...

Merwin is one of the great poets of our age. Los Angeles Times Book Review

Merwin has become instantly recognizable on the page; he has made for himself that most difficult of all creations, an accomplished style. Helen Vendler, New York Review of Books

It is gratifying to read poetry that is this ambitious, that cares about vision and the possibilities of poetry, by a poet who is capable of so much change. The Nation

Essential means just that: A deeply considered selection from W.S. Merwin s vast oeuvre that represents the poemsand a few...