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=William Carlos Williams by Kari Cameron=

William Carlos Williams is a pioneer of American literature. Williams was put in such categories with authors such as Walt Whitman, John Keats, and Ezra Pound. Much of Williams poetry was taken from real life experiences and the poetic movements of his time. Williams also wrote much of his poetry about John Keats who was his greatest role model. Although, Williams was not a traditional author, his work left a mark in American literature that is still remembered today.

William Carlos Williams was born September 17, 1883 in Rutherford, New Jersey to a Puerto Rican mother and an English father. Growing up, Williams never had an interest in art or literature, much like his parents did. Williams was always more interested in science and knowing how things worked. After Williams graduated high school, he attended Chateau de Lancy near Geneva, Switzerland and Lycee Condorect in Paris. In 1902, he entered the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. Here, he became close friends with poets Ezra Pound and Hilda Doolittle which caused his passion for poetry to emerge and grow. In 1906, he received his degree and in 1910 he returned to Rutherford to begin his own practice which lasted until 1951. In 1912, Williams married Florence "Flossie" Herman after her sister rejected him. Williams went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for his work of //Pictures from Brueghel and Other Poems// in 1962. Much of Williams’ early work included themes such as ideals of marriage, gender identities, and cultural identities. He drew most of these ideas from his mixed ancestry and his marriage to Florence "Flossie" Herman. Williams also tried to incorporate his patients lives into his poetry by distinguishing between health and disease and life and death (Steinman). In many of Williams’ short stories and novels, the central theme is the lives of ordinary people and the understanding of human nature’s basic drive for survival(Steinman). Williams also focused on ordinary life and its voice from the patterns of common speech(MacGowan). Williams was not privy to the American formal styles of writing. Williams wanted to change America’s view on writing and poetry by using common language which was not highly accepted at this time. Williams wanted his poetry to paint a vivid image in reader’s minds. In order to accomplish this, Williams drew from his belief that language is a reflection of character(Bloom). Williams would write stories that made his readers connect to the characters personalities and feelings just as though they where the character. Williams was a pioneer of the objectivism and imagist movements which emphasized thought and feeling. Through these movements, Williams was able to explore the relationship between self and the external world psychologically, historically, and philosophically(Bloom). Although, Williams tried to eliminate the use of modern metaphors, he used inanimate objects to portray human feelings, emotions, and activities. One of his most famous poems that used this style was //Red Wheelbarrow//. The poem gave the impression that the wheelbarrow was a human doing human activities while still having the same characteristics of a wheelbarrow. Williams was also highly influenced by early century revolutions in art, so many of his early poems also included art as a central theme. Williams tried to change the face of American literature by not conforming to traditional proses in poetry and using vivid imagery to paint a picture. Many believed that Williams poetry could save the world because it filters thoughts, observations, and perceptions through in the imagination, creating an imaginative view of life that improves upon reality(Steinman).

Annotated Bibliograpy

Bloom, Harold. __William Carlos Willimas__. Broomall: Chelsea House Publishers, 2002.

The book William Carlos Williams talks about many of his poems. The book is organized by a brief biography about Williams, then goes into great detail about his poetry. It gives small tidbits of information about the movements Williams explored and where he got many of his themes from.

MacGowan, Christopher. "William Carlos Williams." __American Writers: A Collection of Literary Wirters.__ Eds. Charles Scribner’s Sons. Ney York:1998

The refrence American Writers: A Collection of Literary Writers includes a variety of information about Williams. Including his style of writing, themes he often used and also a brief biography of his life. The reference also contains some of Williams writing and talks about themes he explored and gave an extensive overview of the poems, explained them in great detail. The book also includes a number of different authors and information about them their poetry.

Steinman, Lisa M.. "William Carlos William's Dreams of Things." __University of Wisconsin Press__ 08 22 2001. Ebscoe Literary Reference Center. <[[http://search.ebscohost.com>.__|__http://search.ebscohost.com>.__

]] "William Carlos William’s Dreams of Things" by University of Wisconsin Press gave an extensive critique of Williams’ poetry and explained what Williams was trying to say. It also provided an extensive overview of Williams’ themes. It also gave a brief insight into his life and where he got his inspiration for writing.

"Williams, William Carlos (1883-1963)." //DISCovering Authors//. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. //Student Resource Center - Gold//. Gale. Fuquay Varina High School/WCPS/. 21 May. 2008 <[|__http://galanet.com/servlet/srcx__]>

The article "William Carlos William" talks about Williams’ life. It gives great details about his childhood and previous schooling education. It also goes into small detail of his family background.