Beschreibung:

MERRILL, James (1926-1995). An important archive of manuscript and printed material, consisting of approximately 240 items, 1942-1988, including revised typescripts for Merrill's trilogy The Changing Light at Sandover ; manuscripts and typescripts from his early years as a student at Amherst; Merrill's fascinating correspondence to William Burford, his co-editor at Amherst of The Medusa ; drawings; photographs; revised proofs; and a collection of first and limited editions, many presentation copies. THE SUPERB JONATHAN GOODWIN ARCHIVE OF JAMES MERRILL James Merrill's verse was honored with nearly every major literary award, including the Bollingen and Pulitzer Prizes. Until his death in 1995, Merrill achieved great notoriety as both a master of traditional forms and as an innovator, easily able to manipulate his verse and create elegant tensions between closed and open forms. With David Jackson his long-time companion and partner, Merrill explored the possibilities of using the Ouija board to channel spiritual energies and unlock a new world of poetic transmission. From their first dalliances with the board in 1955 to their directed use of it later, Merrill--and some would argue Jackson as co-conspirator--produced one of the epic masterpieces of modern verse. Its three sections were originally issued as The Book of Ephraim (final section of Divine Comedies , 1976), Mirabell: Books of Number (1978) and Scripts for the Pageant (1980) and later were collected with a coda as The Changing Light at Sandover (1982). The Goodwin archive contains complete typescripts for each section, revised by Merrill using a combination of "cut-and-tape" technique and traditional manuscript revision. Almost without exception, the taped sections are loosely inserted, allowing the undertext to remain visible. The manuscripts then become palimpsests, layering version on version. Also of significance are the warm contemporary inscriptions in each to Merrill's Greek lover Manos Karastefanis. Leading up to his greatest achievement, Merrill honed his craft as a young poet. While attending the prep school Lawrenceville from 1939-1943 Merrill was encouraged to write by fellow student Frederick Buechner. His early verses were published privately as a surprise by his father as Jim's Book (1942). The copy here was given by Merrill to the Lawrenceville infirmary. After graduating from Lawrenceville, Merrill attended Amherst College. His studies were interrupted from 1944 to 1945 by service in the U.S. Army, but on his return he delved further into his literary interests. The correspondence in the Goodwin archive to William Burford dates from this period and provides an exceptional look into the burgeoning mind of the young poet. Burford co-founded and -edited The Medusa , a literary journal that would publish a close group of friends (including Anaïs Nin). Only one issue was published, but the fascinating correspondence reveals the importance of the journal as a vehicle for Merrill's early development. Further materials spanning Merrill's career include revised proofs, many inscribed to David Jackson or, later, to Peter Hooten--Merrill's last companion. MERRILL MATERIALS ARE EXTREMELY SCARCE ON THE MARKET: In 1964, Washington University in St. Louis chose Merrill as one of fifteen poets for inclusion in their Modern Library Collection. The library aggressively collected Merrill's work and currently holds the majority of his extant manuscripts. Merrill served as visiting professor at Washington University several times and he presented the bulk of his manuscripts to them throughout his career and encouraged family and friends to do the same. Their collection comprises over 40 boxes of material, including thousands of pages of worksheets, early notebooks, galley proofs and ephemera. While they have worksheets of all sections of Merrill's trilogy and a late draft of Books 0-6 of Mirabell (exhibiting similar editorial techniques), the Goodwin typescripts of the