Divine comedies: Poems

by James Merrill

Book by Merrill, James Ingram

Genres: Poetry, Fiction

136 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

James Ingram Merrill was born on March 3, 1926, and died on February 6, 1995. From the mid-1950s on, he lived in Stonington, Connecticut, and for extended periods he also had houses in Athens and Key West. From The Black Swan (1946) through A Scattering of Salts (1995), he wrote twelve books of poems, ten of them published in trade editions, as well as The Changing Light at Sandover (1982). He also published two plays, The Immortal Husband (1956) and The Bait (1960); two novels, The Seraglio (1957, reissued in 1987) and The (Diblos) Notebook (1965, reissued 1994); a book of essays, interviews, and reviews, Recitative (1986); and a memoir, A Different Person (1993). Over the years, he was the winner of numerous awards for his poetry, including two National Book Awards, the Bollingen Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, and the first Bobbitt Prize from the Library of Congress. He was a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Reviews

[Jeff Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recently re-read "Book of Ephraim" - the first part of Merrill's ouija board epic about his decades long connection with various spirits who provide insights into the other side. It's the first section of "The Changing Light at Sandover," but it also stands alone. And truly, it's one of the greatest single poems I've ever encountered. Occult with a light touch, playfully profound, and bitchy in all the right places. A perfect mix of compressed imagery, lovely filigree, and pure narrative propulsion.

[Brixton · Rating 3 out of 5]

i probably have too much ecclesial guilt to properly enjoy this. some truly stunning lines and stanzas, interspersed with others i found both opaque and ugly. i feel like i'll need to give this another chance another year.

nevertheless, favourites included: Lost in Translation, McCane's Falls, and sections L, R, T, V, and X of The Book of Ephraim.

[Paola]

days of 1964
I had gone so long without loving,
I hardly knew what i was thinking.

[Jacob Moose]

AM I IN YR ROOM
SO ARE ALL YR DEAD WHO HAVE NOT GONE
INTO OTHER BODIES IT IS EASY TO CALL THEM BRING THEM AS
FIRES WITHIN SIGHT OF EACH OTHER ON HILLS
U & YR GUESTS
THESE TIMES WE SPEAK ARE WITHIN SIGHT OF & ALL CONNECTED
TO EACH OTHER DEAD OR ALIVE
NOW DO U UNDERSTAND WHAT
HEAVEN IS IT IS THE SURROUND OF THE LIVING
THE PATRON IS OFTEN DUMB WITH APPREHENSION FOR IT
IS EXTRAORDINARY WHAT WE DO
U COMMUNICATE THRU MY
IMPARTIAL FIRE U MATERIALIZE WITHIN MY SIGHT AS FIGURES
IN THE FIRE & A PATRON CALLED UP KNOWING NO SUCH DIRECT
METHOD IS NERVOUS LEST HE EXPOSE TOO MUCH OUR TALK IS
TO HIM BLINDING FOR OFTEN HE COMES TO OUR FIRE & HIS
REPRESENTATIVE SITS LOOMING UP
THE HOPE & DESPAIR
THE
MEMORY & THE PAIN
O MY DEARS WE ARE OFTEN WEAKER THAN
OUR REPRESENTATIVES IT IS A SILENT LOVE
WE ARE IN A
SYSTEM OF SUCH SILENT BUT URGENT MOTIVES
U & I WITH OUR
QUICK FIRELIT MESSAGES STEALING THE GAME ARE SMUGGLERS &
SO IN A SENSE UNLAWFUL THE DEAD ARE MOST CONSERVATIVE
THEY COME HERE AS SLAVES TO A NEW HOUSE TERRIFIED OF
BEING SOLD BACK TO LIFE
& NOW ABOUT DEVOTION
IT IS I AM FORCED TO BELIEVE
THE MAIN IMPETUS DEVOTION TO EACH OTHER TO WORK TO
REPRODUCTION TO AN IDEAL IT IS BOTH THE MOULD & THE
CLAY SO WE ARRIVE AT GOD OR A DEVOTION TO ALL OR MANYS
IDEAL OF THE CONTINUUM
SO WE CREATE THE MOULDS OF
HEAVENLY PERFECTION & THE ONES ABOVE OF RARER & MORE
EXPERT USEFULNESS & AT LAST DEVOTION WITH THE COMBINED
FORCES OF FALLING & WEARING WATER PREPARES A HIGHER MORE
FINISHED WORLD OR HEAVEN THESE DEVOTIONAL POWERS ARE
AS A FALL OF WATERS PUSHED FROM BEHIND OVER THE CLIFF OF
EVEN MY EXPERIENCE A FLOOD IS BUILDING UP
EARTH HAS
ALREADY SEEN THE RETURN OF PERFECTED SOULS FROM 9
AMENHOTEP KAFKA DANTES BEATRICE I OR 2 PER CENTURY
FOR NOTHING LIVE IS MOTIONLESS HERE OUR STATE IS EXCITING AS
WE MOVE WITH THE CURRENT & DEVOTION BECOMES AN ELEMENT
OF ITS OWN FORCE O MY I AM TOO EXCITED
SO FEW UP HERE
WISH TO THINK THEIR EYES ARE TURNED HAPPILY UP AS THEY
FLOAT TOWARD THE CLIFF
I WANT TO DO MORE THAN RIDE &
WEAR & WAIT
ON THE FAIRLY LIVELY GROUND OF MY LIFE I
HAVE BUILT THIS HIGH LOOKOUT BUT FIND TO MY SURPRISE THAT
I AM WISEST WHEN I LOOK STRAIGHT DOWN AT THE PRECIOUS
GROUND I KNEW THERE IS AHEAD A SERIES OF PICTURES I
BELIEVE I CD SHOW U TO MAKE CLEARER MY SELF & WHAT IT IS
I THINK THE FORCE OF THE FLOOD HAS ONLY ADVANCED A DROP
OR 2 DOWN THE FACE OF THE CLIFF & MAN HAS TAKEN THEM TO
BE TEARS NOW U UNDERSTAND MY LOVE OF TELLING MY LIFE
FOR IN ALL TRUTH I AM IMAGINING THAT NEXT ONE WHEN WE
CRASH THROUGH IN OUR NUMBERS TRANSFORMING LIFE INTO
WELL EITHER A GREAT GLORY OR A GREAT PUDDLE--Ephraim,
26.x.6I

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rich
Reality Check
Molecular Psychological Comedy between Heavenly like and humans

[in8 · Rating 3 out of 5]

engaged here: http://www.5cense.com/16/460.htm

[Mills College Library]

811.54 M5713d 1976