William Carlos Williams (1883 - 1963) was an American doctor and writer. Born in New Jersey and raised in a family that appreciated the arts, he seamlessly blended a career in medicine (he was a general practitioner with a specialty in pediatrics) with a career in words. His poems were often inspired by the lives of his patients. A fan of Walt Whitman and John Keats, William was friends with Ezra Pound, a mentor for Allen Ginsberg, and was widely admired and respected for his innovative, "rooted in the everyday" poetry. A heart attack and series of strokes severely impacted the last fifteen years of his life, but William continued to write until his death.