Browse Items (206 total)

James Merrill letter to Peter Hooten written in Key West to be read when Hooten wakes up. Merrill is begging Hooten to "get a hold of [his] feelings" and states that "the only permitted feeling is loyal clear-eyed love." This is one of the first…

James Merrill letter to Tony Parigory discussing typing the Ouija transcripts to make a prose memoir. Merrill also mentions his problem of losing the novel manuscripts.

Hellen Plummer letter to James Merrill regarding "Lost in Translation" and how much his work keeps impressing her. She shows herself to be a "fair literary critic" in this letter.

James Merrill letter to Daryl Hine including Merrill's realization that he's using psychoanalytic thinking as a tool for enchantment rather than demystification, making life and art even more intertwined (see also "Under Libra" draft).

James Merrill letter to Daryl Hine describing his and David Jackson's latest sexual partner. Merrill mentions his new relationship with Strato Mouflouzelis and also complains of spiritual and historical debates with Tony Harwood.

See also Journal…

Mona Van Duyn letter to James Merrill in which Van Duyn requests on behalf of Washington University Libraries to start collecting Merrill's literary papers at Washington University. Van Duyn’s personal inquiry persuaded Merrill to accept the…

Kimon Friar letter to James Merrill, airing his grievances and declaring simple friendship between them is impossible, coming after a decade of a "stiff, formal relationship" for the former lovers.

James Merrill letter to David Jackson with a poem, drawings, and a photo Merrill made for Jackson's 40th birthday.

Typed letter from James Merrill to his mother Hellen Ingram Plummer, explaining the spirit Ephraim and what Merrill is learning about patrons, representatives, and other topics.

This James Merrill postcard to David Jackson is one of the first mentions of Jackson in Merrill's Papers. The postcard was written shortly after they first met, and Merrill is wondering when he will see Jackson again.