William Carlos Williams

Abstract

Williams Carlos Williams was a physician and a poet. He suffered from multiple episodes of major depression, and had post-stroke depressions in later life; yet, he remained a productive writer until a few years prior before his death, at age 80. The structure, style, and content of Williams' writings evolved continually, and he received a Pulitzer Prize posthumously for poetry written during his later life. The authors discuss factors that seem to be associated with his successful coping with mental illness. Williams' life helps challenge the negative stereotypes associated with serious mental illness and aging.