The Fool's Song

WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS (1883-1963) One of the most original and widely imitated poets of the twentieth century, William Carlos Williams wrote verse firmly rooted in the details of everyday life. A practicing physician for more than 40 years, Williams worked in the idiom of modern American speech (unlike his friend and mentor, Ezra Pound), and his poems are redolent with a generosity of spirit. The Beat poets were particularly impressed with the accessibility of his language, and Williams's widely quoted dictum, "No ideas but in things," influenced a generation of American poets.