WAILUKU — When informed he had been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry yesterday morning, Maui resident W. S. Merwin described the experience as "lovely."

"It means people have been reading the poems," Merwin said. "It means they got through to people. That's the best thing a person can hope for."

The prize recognized Merwin's newest collection, "The Shadow of Sirius," published last year.

"Sirius is the brightest star in the visible universe. It is also known as the dog star," Merwin said of the work, described in the announcement of Pulitzer winners as "a collection of luminous, often tender poems that focus on the profound power of memory."

This was the second Pulitzer for poetry for Merwin, 81, a Haiku resident since 1976 who described his life here as "very private," with his wife, Paula, and their dog.

His first Pulitzer came in 1971 for "The Carrier of Ladders."

Merwin had returned Sunday from a series of poetry events in Texas and was greeted yesterday morning with a phone message from his wife, who's still off-island.

"My wife called and said there was a message from my publisher. She said they were all sending out for champagne," Merwin said.

Born in New York City, the son of a Presbyterian minister, Merwin's work has ranged from classical themes to his objections to the Vietnam War, which he protested by declining to accept the prize money for his 1971 Pulitzer.

In a variety of styles, he has examined Buddhist philosophy, environmental concerns and Hawaiian mythology and lore, both in his art and in his life.

He set his book-length poem, "The Folding Cliffs," on Kauai. It was published in 1998.

"We're involved with local issues," he said of his life in the Islands. "We're trying to save the island from being completely covered with asphalt from Haleakala to the sea. We're trying to save the rain forests and the birds. Hawaii's cultural traditions, too, mean a lot to me. It's one of the great attractions to me."

"The Folding Cliffs" grew from his study of Hawaiian language over many years, "although it has become rusty to me now."

Along with the themes he champions, poetry itself is Merwin's abiding crusade.

"People say, 'I don't read poetry because I don't understand it,' " he said.

But Merwin noted the change that happens when people hear it at a reading.

Acknowledging the deep, soulful place poetry has in other societies, he decried the way it is so readily "ignored" in American culture.

"Wars bring it out. After September 11th, everybody was reading poetry — for about six weeks," he said.

The language of Shakespeare had been part of a brilliant tradition, he said.

"The Puritans wiped it out, and it never came back," Merwin said.

But new sprouts continue to blossom in Haiku.