Doctor and poet William Carlos Williams
was born in Rutherford, New Jersey. He grew up in an ordinary fashion – playing with friends and wandering alone through the fields and woods
outside of town, just enjoying being in the midst of the sounds and images of
nature. It was when his high school English teacher Mr. Abbott read poems aloud
that William felt his spirit come to rest on the fluid lines of words. As he
began to write poems himself, it was apparent that “poetry suited Willie.” He
studied the rhymes and rhythms of famous English poets but “he had pictures in
his mind that didn’t exactly fit into steady rhythms or rhymes.” So his poems
took the form of his thoughts and perceptions, moving freely, portraying
ordinary things. But in the way of the world, William knew he needed to earn a
living through something other than poetry. He became good friends with poets and
artists at the university where he went to medical school and stayed in touch with them even as he maintained a busy family medicine practice. Always Williams wrote
poetry – on prescription pads during the day as he was able or late at night
with the moon shining in his window. A
River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams is an absolutely
glorious biography combining Jen Bryant’s lyrical narrative with Melissa Sweet’s
beautifully layered collages incorporating elements of Williams’s elegant poems
about the ordinary things in life. It is a fusion of text and visual art
consistent with Williams’s unique poetic style. A timeline of events and
endnotes from both the author and illustrator complete this celebration of a notable
American poet. Ages 7 to adult.
