James Merrill

James Merrill (1926–1995) was one of the foremost American poets of the later twentieth century. He published eleven volumes of poems, in addition to the trilogy, The Changing Light at Sandover. He also wrote plays, novels, and a memoir.
James Merrill in a kitchen
Letters

Merrill's Last Letters

Writing to the end
James Merrill
May 19, 2021
Ink sketch of minotaurs in profile. Jean Cocteau, Untitled. Courtesy 888 Auctions.
Poetry

Minotaur

James Merrill
April 1, 1999
Charles Bridge in Prague covered in mist. Adapted from R. Boed / Creative Commons.
Poetry

Rhapsody on Czech Themes

James Merrill
October 1, 1995
Young James Merrill with his pet terrier at "The Orchard" in 1930.
From the Archives

Cosmo

James Merrill
April 1, 1994
Black and white photo of light coming through windows in the apse of San Vitale in Ravenna with mosaics. Courtesy N.P. Sullo.
Essays

Days of 1952

On the rapture of experiencing art in solitude
James Merrill
April 1, 1992
Merrill with Mask of Keats and Head of Hermes. Courtesy Washington University in St. Louis Special Collections.
Poetry

To the Reader

James Merrill
November 1, 1990
From the Archives

"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

James Merrill
December 1, 1989
View of the Tiber River at Sunset. Stefano Avolio / Creative Commons.
Poetry

Walks in Rome

James Merrill
March 1, 1988
A ruined palace, backdrop from La Gioconda. The Victrola Book of the Opera, 1917.
Poetry

The Ponchielli Complex

James Merrill
October 1, 1986
A page from one of James Merrill's manuscripts
Poetry

Days of 1941 and ‘44

James Merrill
July 1, 1984