# W.S. Merwin, Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry Recipient, Reads From His Works

Celebrated poet W.S. Merwin received the 2006 Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry and read selections of his work in a program sponsored by the Library's Poetry and Literature Center. The prize, the ninth to be given, was awarded to Merwin for his book "Present Company," published in 2005 by Copper Canyon. The 2006 Bobbitt Prize is awarded for the most distinguished book of poetry published during 2004 and 2005. The biennial $10,000 prize recognizes a book of poetry written by an American and published during the preceding two years, or the lifetime achievement of an American poet. The prize is donated by the family of the late Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt of Austin, Texas, in her memory, and awarded at the Library of Congress. Bobbitt was President Lyndon B. Johnson's sister. While a graduate student in Washington, D.C., during the 1930s, Rebekah Johnson met college student O.P. Bobbitt when they both worked in the cataloging department of the Library of Congress. They married and returned to Texas.

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2007
- By: Library Of Congress. Literary Initiatives Office
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/2021687897/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/2021687897?play=1)