Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
Many of the young poets Williams mentored went on to be really big deals in their own right. You know, like that guy Allen Ginsberg, who said that Williams totally blew his mind and made him the poet he was. Williams even wrote the introduction to Ginsberg's controversial debut, Howl. (Source.)
Williams self-published his first book of poetry in 1909 and sold only four copies at the local bookstore (bummer). The rest of the copies were stored under a chicken coop, which accidentally burned down ten years later (bigger bummer). (Source.)
Out of freak coincidence, Williams's grandmother was named Emily Dickinson. Williams also happened to be a huge fan of Dickinson, who he called his "patron saint." (Source.)
Williams was not afraid to talk smack about T.S. Eliot. For example, he called his fellow poet's widely-loved poem The Waste Land "the great catastrophe." (Source.)