Browse Items (206 total)

Holograph and typescript fragments toward and three full drafts of "Self-Portrait in a Tyvek Windbreaker." A play on John Ashbery's "Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror," and published in A Scattering of Salts, it is one of the longest poems of…

"The Will," published in Divine Comedies, contains the first mention of Ephraim in a poem, as well as the first time he speaks. In it, Ephraim explains why the novel draft was lost twice--implying that he was involved.

"Under Libra: Weights and Measures," published in Braving the Elements, was dedicated to David McIntosh. Included here are two corrected typescript drafts of the poem. Through this seemingly impersonal poem Merrill realized, with the help of his…

This typescript draft page (one among 265 draft pages) centers on James Merrill comforting Psyche (and himself) over her (and his) realization of the limitations of love and self-knowledge. "From the Cupola" was published inNights and Days.See also…

"Days of 1964" was published in Nights and Days. Included here are two typescript draft pages (of a total thirty-two manuscript pages) with holograph corrections, drafts, and sketches. The poem documents his life in Greece and love for Strato…

Notebook pages showing the first title of and early notes toward the pivotal, experimental, multifaceted poem "The Thousand and Second Night," which was based partly upon Merrill's Bell's palsy experience. These notes capture Merrill's uncertainty…

This entry includes two typescript draft pages (among the 40 worksheets Merrill saved) with holograph corrections and drawings showing his "engagement in verbal self-analysis" and reflecting "the intimate, brooding voice in Merrill's notebooks." The…

"Voices from the Other World," published in The Country of a Thousand Years of Peace, was James Merrill's first--and for many years, only--treatment of the Ouija board séances in a poem. Merrill's supernatural and domestic life with Jackson…

"Mirror" was published in The Country of a Thousand Years of Peace. Included here is one typescript among 11 total pages with holograph notes and alternative titles. It was inspired by the Ephraim séances and is commonly held to be Merrill's…

Published in Late Settings, "Days of 1941 and '44" recalls Lawrenceville School and Merrill using his diaries to become a "poet of memory." The poem is dedicated to David Mixsell, his arch-nemesis at Lawrenceville, who would die in Europe in World…