"Merwin's masterfully refined, meditative poems stem from his dwelling mindfully in one beloved place and handling words as though they are seeds, flowers, stones, and water... Merwin has attained a transcendent and transformative elevation of beaming perception, exquisite balance, and clarifying beauty."-Booklist, starred review of The Moon before Morning "In his personal anonymity, his strict individuated manner, his defense of the earth, and his...

"In this new work from one of America's foremost poets, W.S. Merwin guides readers to universal themes through worldly specifics. Similar in tone and effect to Pablo Neruda's Elemental Odes, every poem in Present Company directly address the human encounters and ordinary objects of daily life, as in "To the Face in the Mirror" or "To Salt."" "These poems to the world are fully engaged with living, are serious yet playful, inspiriting and full of wonder....

In the sequel to The First Four Books of Poems, originally published in 1975, this current collection spans the sixties and the early years of the seventies and embodies pronounced changes from the poems in the four books that preceded them.