born Sept. 17, 1883, Rutherford, N.J., U.S.
died March 4, 1963, Rutherford
U.S. poet.
Trained as a pediatrician, Williams wrote poetry and practiced medicine in his hometown. He is noted for making the ordinary appear extraordinary through clear and discrete imagery, as in the fresh and direct impressions of the sensuous world expressed in "The Red Wheelbarrow," from Spring and All (1923). Paterson (1946–58), a five-part long poem, evokes a complex vision of modern American life. In 1963 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in poetry for Pictures from Brueghel (1962). His numerous prose works include essays, a trilogy of novels, short stories, drama, and autobiography.