William Carlos Review-essay of William Carlos Williams, _By Word of Mouth: Poems from the Spanish, 1916-1959_. Compiled and Edited by Jonathan Cohen. Foreword by Julio Marzán. New York: New Directions, 2011.
All of William Carlos Williams' translations from the Spanish have been gathered and expertly edited by Jonathan Cohen. Williams' translations were collaborative and a key factor in his growth during three different phases of his career: during World War I and his crucial break-through as an artist; during the 1930s, inspired by the Spanish Civil War and songs of the Spanish Republic; and during the 1950s, the last decade of Williams' life. This review assesses Cohen's volume for its importance in deepening not just our understanding of Williams' development as a poet, but also the importance of Latin American poetry in general to the evolution of U.S. poetry, particularly after World War II. Originally published in the William Carlos Williams Review, which for some reason is not indexed by databases tracking the republication policies of academic journals. WCWR 29.2 (Fall 2009; but actually published in 2013).