"The first biography of one of the most important poets in the second half of the twentieth century, whose life story is unparalleled in its narrative interest. The story of James Merrill (1926-1995) is that of a young man escaping, but inevitably reproducing, the energies and obsessions of glamorous, powerful parents (his father founded Merrill Lynch); of a gay man inventing his identity against a shifting social and sexual backdrop; and of a brilliantly gifted poet testing the redemptive potential of his art. We see how ...
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"The first biography of one of the most important poets in the second half of the twentieth century, whose life story is unparalleled in its narrative interest. The story of James Merrill (1926-1995) is that of a young man escaping, but inevitably reproducing, the energies and obsessions of glamorous, powerful parents (his father founded Merrill Lynch); of a gay man inventing his identity against a shifting social and sexual backdrop; and of a brilliantly gifted poet testing the redemptive potential of his art. We see how Merrill, freed from having to work for a living, made his life itself a kind of work. After Amherst and a period of adventure in Italy, he returned to the New York art world of the 1950s (he met W. H. Auden, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Larry Rivers) and began publishing his poems, novels, and plays. In 1953, he fell in love with budding writer David Jackson, who remained his companion for forty years while they explored "boys and bars" in Greece and elsewhere. At the same time, they were talking to the spirits of the otherworld using a Ouija board, which became an improbable source of poetic inspiration for Merrill. In his many collections of poetry and the candid letters and diaries that enrich every page of this deliciously readable life, Merrill created a prismatic art of multiple perspectives. Holding that life and art together in a complex, evolving whole, Langdon Hammer illuminates Merrill's "chronicles of love & loss" and the remarkable personal journey they record"--
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Add this copy of James Merrill: Life and Art to cart. $5.94, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2015 by Knopf Publishing Group.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good jacket. Size: 6x2x9; The binding is tight, corners sharp. Text and images unmarked. Remainder mark on the bottom edge of the text block. The dust jacket shows some very light handling, in a mylar cover. 8vo. xxiv, 913pp.
Add this copy of James Merrill Life and Art to cart. $25.00, very good condition, Sold by Michener & Rutledge Bookseller rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Baldwin City, KS, UNITED STATES, published 2015 by Knopf.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good+ in Very Good dust jacket. 9780375413339. Small red mark on bottom edge, otherwise text clean and tight; First Edition; 8vo 8"-9" tall; 944 pages.
Add this copy of James Merrill: Life and Art to cart. $36.70, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hialeah, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2015 by Knopf.
Add this copy of James Merrill: Life and Art to cart. $89.55, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hialeah, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2015 by Knopf.
