Love for the poetry of W.S. Merwin has inspired generations of readers to explore Copper Canyon Press’s books for the first time. Chances are, you might be one of them.

A prolific poet, lauded translator, and devoted conservationist, Merwin dedicated his life and his writings to environmental concern and protection. For over three decades, it has been our honor to protect and preserve Merwin’s poetic legacy while also seeding the way for future generations of poets who share his environmental passions. This fall, we invite you to join us in nurturing poetry’s future by donating to our Planting the Seeds campaign, which is inspired by The Way Back: Nature Writings, an anthology in celebration of Merwin’s centennial birthday.

While Copper Canyon Press remains the guardian of Merwin’s poetic legacy, The Merwin Conservancy, the non-profit steward of Merwin’s home and his surrounding palm forest, is the safeguard of his environmental one. The Way Back, will be the first book from a new Copper Canyon Press imprint called Merwin Conservancy Books, committed to keeping Merwin’s writings in print and publishing new work inspired by his dedication to the environment. An essential addition to any Merwin-fan’s library or a beautiful introduction to his oeuvre, The Way Back will span Merwin’s six decade career, and gathers ecologically themed poems, essays, translations, and photos across his life.

Our goal is to raise $30,000 by November 15, 2026.

When you make a donation, you become a part of a larger act of poetic conservation at Copper Canyon Press that:

Saves former Poet Laureate of the United States and two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner W.S. Merwin’s literary legacy from extinction by keeping his name and works in print.
Supports poets from our entire Spring 2027 season (pictured below), and plants the seeds for future generations of writers and translators.
Brings more poetry into the world that centers environmental conservation and cultivates appreciation for the natural world.

Your impact does not stop at Copper Canyon Press’s door; royalties from The Way Back will benefit The Merwin Conservancy, home of Merwin’s palm forest, which he and his wife Paula, hand-planted on land depleted by destructive agricultural practices. The Conservancy also hosts a residency program dedicated to “writers and artists who make new possibilities for language and land.” They invite at least one artist of Native Hawaiian ancestry to stay per year, and have hosted some of your favorite Copper Canyon Press poets, including Arthur Sze, Pádraig Ó Tuama, and Natalie Diaz.

The Merwin Conservancy is a place Executive Director Sonnet Kekelia Coggins describes as “about living your care for the world and expressing it in your every action.” It is the living, growing proof that one person’s daily practice—tending a garden, writing a poem—can make a substantial difference. That is a mindset we share at Copper Canyon Press: Change starts with one person, and today, we invite you to be that person.

Live your care for the world:

Preserve and honor the legacy of W.S Merwin.

Plant the seeds for poetry’s future at Copper Canyon Press.

Please donate today.

Your Rewards

$30

A letterpress broadside of the W.S. Merwin poem “To Paula in Late Spring” designed, hand-typeset, and printed by our friends at The North Press.

$50

One copy of W.S. Merwin’s collection of enigmatic short hybrid pieces, The Book of Fables, one of our favorite Merwin backlist titles.

$100

Be among the very first to receive a copy of the new anthology The Way Back: Nature Writings, which features ecologically themed poems, essays, translations, and photographs from across W.S. Merwin’s life. Edited by Michael Wiegers, to be published in April of 2026 under the brand new The Merwin Conservancy Books imprint.

$250

One hot-off-the-press copy of The Way Back: Nature Writings plus your name printed in a special gratitude section at the back of the book, plus, while supplies last, a gorgeous gold embossed letterpress broadside of the poem “The Birds on the Morning of Going,” designed, hand-typeset, and printed by Expedition Press and featuring a unique gold foil arc element.

$500

One hot-off-the-press copy of The Way Back, plus your name printed in a special gratitude section, plus a signed and numbered, limited edition of Moon Before Morning in which Merwin examines everything from minute flowers to oceanic destruction, weaving our complex relationship with the natural world with his own youth, memory, and intense engagement with the passing of days, plus a letterpress broadside of the poem “To Paula in Late Spring.”

$1,000

One hot-off-the press copy of The Way Back; plus your name printed in a special gratitude section of the book, plus a signed and lettered, limited edition of Garden Time that comes enclosed in a gorgeous custom-made wingfold slipcover; plus a quarterly box of frontlist books from Copper Canyon Press delivered to your doorstep for one year. Limited quantities!

$2,500

RARE Shadow of Sirius prize package: A signed, first-edition paperback copy of Merwin’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning Shadow of Sirius, PLUS a signed vintage CCP broadside (printed in 2010) of “From the Start” from Shadow of Sirius. We have only THREE of these packages available. You will also receive a hot-off-the-press copy of The Way Back and a quarterly box of frontlist books from Copper Canyon Press delivered to your doorstep for one year.

$5,000

ALL of the rewards in the $2,500 tier listed above (excluding the Shadow of Sirius packages if they have already been claimed); plus your name printed in a special acknowledgment section in the back of every Copper Canyon Press title we publish for a year.

The Way Back: Nature Writings will publish in April 2027. We anticipate fulfilling rewards for this campaign in Spring 2027 shortly after publication of The Way Back. Thank you for your support!

Planting the Seeds

Nurture Poetry's Future at Copper Canyon Press