James Merrill
James Ingram Merrill (March 3, 1926 – February 6, 1995) was an American poet. He also wrote essays, fiction, and plays.
James Merrill | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Merrill in 1973 | |
| Born | James Ingram Merrill March 3, 1926 New York City, US |
| Died | February 6, 1995 (aged 68) Tucson, Arizona, US |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Alma mater | The Lawrenceville School Amherst College |
| Genre | American poetry |
| Notable works | The Changing Light at Sandover, Divine Comedies, Nights and Days |
| Notable awards | Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, National Book Award, Bollingen Prize |
| Partner | David Jackson Peter Hooten |
| Parents | Charles E. Merrill (father) |
| Relatives | Charles E. Merrill, Jr. (brother) Peter Magowan (nephew) |
He won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1977 for Divine Comedies. He won two National Book Awards, for Nights and Days (1966) and Mirabell: Books of Numbers (1978).[1] His second novel, The (Diblos) Notebook was a finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction.[2]
Merrill was born in 1926 in New York City. His family was very rich. His father, Charles Merrill, was an investment banker and co-founder of the Merrill Lynch brokerage firm. He started his higher schooling at Amherst College, where he first met the poet Robert Frost. He was in the U. S. Army from 1944 to 1945. He graduated from Amherst after World War II in 1947.[1]
Merrill's first play, The Immortal Husband, was done off Broadway in 1955. His first novel, The Seraglio, was published in 1957.[3]
By using a ouija board, Merrill and his life-long companion David Jackson wrote down messages from other-world spirits. Merrill used these notes in three of his books. These books were printed together as a trilogy in 1982 with a new last part. That book is called The Changing Light at Sandover.[1]
In his last years, Merrill was sick with AIDS. He died of a heart attack in 1995 while on vacation in Tucson, Arizona.[3][4]
Books
- First Poems (1951)
- The (Diblos) Notebook (1965)
- Nights and Days (1966)
- The Fire Screen (1969)
- Braving the Elements (1972)
- Divine Comedies (1976)
- Mirabell: Books of Number (1978)
- The Changing Light at Sandover (1982)
- A Different Person (1993)
James Merrill Media
James Merrill and David Jackson in Athens, Greece, October 1973 (photo: Judith Moffett)
James Merrill with actor Peter Hooten, his partner from 1983 to 1995 (photo: Judith Moffett)
James Merrill House, Stonington, Connecticut
James Merrill and David Jackson House, Key West, Florida
Jackson and Merrill graves, Evergreen Cemetery, Stonington, Connecticut
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "James Merrill". Poetry Foundation. 2023-01-21. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ↑ "About James Merrill | Academy of American Poets". poets.org. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Gussow, Mel (1995-02-07). "James Merrill Is Dead at 68; Elegant Poet of Love and Loss" (in en-US). The New York Times. . https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/07/obituaries/james-merrill-is-dead-at-68-elegant-poet-of-love-and-loss.html. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ↑ "James Merrill: "Last Letters"". The Yale Review. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
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