Miller Williams
American · 20th–21st century
American poet who taught at the University of Arkansas, won numerous poetry prizes, and authored the poem 'Compassion' containing the line 'where the spirit meets the bone.'
Connection to Taylor Swift
Source of the line 'where the spirit meets the bones' in ivy via his poem 'Compassion'. The line likely reached Taylor via the proximate route of his daughter Lucinda Williams' 2014 album 'Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone' (American Music Award Album of the Year), with Miller Williams as the ultimate literary source.
Notable Works
- Compassion, The Ways We Touch
Appears in the Archive
Context within the Archive
Compassion
“I'd meet you where the spirit meets the bones”
Angela & Uncle Jerry identify the line 'where the spirit meets the bones' as deriving from Miller Williams' poem 'Compassion,' which contains the line 'You do not know what wars are going on down where the spirit meets the bone.' Uncle Jerry notes the line may also pay homage to Lucinda Williams' album title 'Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone,' which won the American Music Award for Album of the Year in 2014. Uncle Jerry suggests that someone in the music industry would likely be familiar with the line, and that its use in ivy creates a tone appropriate for the poem's spooky, liminal qualities.