Poem of the week – The Hunters in the Snow by William Carlos Williams

William Carlos Williams is rightly considered a colossus among the giants of modern American poetry. He is best remembered as the author of the famously short and elusive poem – The Wheelbarrow – as well as for turning a lunchtime note to his wife (This is Just to Say) into an enduring piece of art.

Working as a doctor in his native New Jersey, at home he worked tirelessly to change the way American poetry was written and for whom American poetry was written for. The various collections he published in his lifetime were primarily met with critical acclaim. This week’s poem belongs to his last collection, Pictures from Brueghel and Other Poems, for which he was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1963. It is indicative of his prevailing style and displays many of his distinguishing qualities. Without rhyme or punctuation, Williams achieved many literary triumphs, including the dazzling example of ekphrasis below. It depicts the eponymous masterpiece by the Flemish painter, Pieter Brueghel the Elder in 1565. This alluring vignette of a hibernal vista left a lasting impression on Williams, who, armed with a medical eye, was able to identify the salient objects and figures that constitute the picture.

We hope you enjoy this week’s poem and that as you trudge through January you will recall a line or two from William’s homage to his favourite painting.

The Hunters in the Snow

The over-all picture is winter
icy mountains
in the background the return

from the hunt it is toward evening
from the left
sturdy hunters lead in

their pack the inn-sign
hanging from a
broken hinge is a stag a crucifix

between his antlers the cold
inn yard is
deserted but for a huge bonfire

that flares wind-driven tended by
women who cluster
about it to the right beyond

the hill is a pattern of skaters
Brueghel the painter
concerned with it all has chosen

a winter-struck bush for his
foreground to
complete the picture