Musing in the Highlands and Valleys: The Poetry of Gratwick Farm

abstract :

In this article reprinted from the William Carlos Williams Review 8.1 (Spring 1982): 8–41, the author traces the relationship between William Gratwick and his wife Harriet and the Williamses focusing on the impact on Williams of the farm at Gratwick Highlands in Linwood. The importance of nature and the pastoral to Williams's creative life as well as his health is emphasized, which he experienced intensely here through, in particular, Bill Gratwick's enthusiasm for the cultivation of tree peonies. The author subsequently reflects on the importance of this experience to Williams's writing of poems such as "The Yellow Tree Peony," a poem unpublished in Williams's lifetime, as well as reflecting on Williams's use of nature and nature writing in his battle with depression.