william stanley merwin (september 30, 1927 – march 15, 2019) was an american poet. he was mainly active during the anti-vietnam war era. he won the pulitzer prize for poetry (in both 1971 and 2009), the national book award for poetry (2005) and the tanning prize, one of the highest honors bestowed by the academy of american poets, as well as the golden wreath of the struga poetry evenings.