About William Carlos Williams

William Carlos Williams was born in Rutherford, New Jersey, in 1883. As a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania, he met and became friends with Ezra Pound and Hilda Doolittle (who used the pseudonym H.D.), and these friendships affected his work as a writer. Over the course of his life, Williams wrote poetry, novels, short stories, essays, and plays.

Some of Williams’ short poems are especially good as a springboard to writing poetry. His famed “red wheelbarrow” poem and “this is just to say,” are two that are easily used as models to teach kids about poetry basics – stanzas, line breaks, the value of white space, the differences between prose and poetry.

Most of the student writings for Poetry Minutes 2009 were inspired by “this is just to say.” Students wrote apology poems either from their own points of view, or from the viewpoint of a pet. Several followed the pattern in the “red wheelbarrow” poem, a technique that is mentioned in Love That Dog, an amazing children’s book about writing poetry by Sharon Creech.

Read additional information about William Carlos Williams and some of his most famous poems.

"This is Just to Say"
by William Carlos Williams

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

This American Life
"Mistakes Were Made" 4-10-09

Act Two. You’re Willing to Sacrifice Our Love.

There’s a famous William Carlos Williams poem called “This is Just to Say". It’s about, among other things, causing a loved one inconvenience and offering a non-apologizing apology. It’s only three lines long, you’ve probably read it...the one about eating the plums in the icebox. Marketplace reporter (and published poet) Sean Cole explains that this is possibly the most spoofed poem around. We asked some of our regular contributors to get into the act. Sarah Vowell, David Rakoff, Starlee Kine, Jonathan Goldstein, Shalom Auslander and Heather O’Neill, all came upwith their own variations of Williams’s classic lines.

Click to hear the full episode
of "Mistakes Were Made" produced by This American Life.

About Constance Alexander

Constance Alexander is Faculty Scholar/Arts & Humanities at Murray State University’s Teacher Quality Institute. Kilroy Was Here, her newest book of poems, tells stories of one Kentucky family and the impact of World War II on each family member. Her essay collection, Who Needs June Cleaver? is a compilation of works adapted from here award winning newspaper column, Main Street. Her books are available at the Murray State University Bookstore or through Amazon.com.

Hear her commentaries produced by WKMS.