Williams, C. K. (Charles Kenneth Williams), 1936–2015, American poet, b. Newark, N.J., grad. Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1959. He wrote more than 20 books of poetry, rich in detail, with complex syntax and long, expansive lines. His early work often focused on political and social issues; his later work became more introspective and intimate. Among his collections are Lies (1969), I Am the Bitter Name (1972), With Ignorance (1977), Tar (1983), Flesh and Blood (1987; National Book Critics Circle Award), A Dream of Mind (1992), The Vigil (1997), Repair (1999; Pulitzer Prize), The Singing (2003; National Book Award), Wait: Poems (2010), Writers Writing Dying (2012), All at Once: Prose Poems (2014), and the posthumously published Falling Ill (2017). Williams also wrote essays, a memoir, and children's books, translated plays and poetry, and taught at a number of American colleges and universities.
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