Dates in
James Merrill's Life
1926
Born March 3 in New York City, son of Charles
Merrill, one of the founders of the Merrill, Lynch brokerage firm, and his
second wife, Hellen Ingram Merrill.
Merrill had a half-sister, Doris Merrill Magowan (b.
1914), and a half-brother, Charles E. Merrill, Jr. (b. 1920), children of
Charles E. Merrill and his first wife.
Family resides at 18 West 11th Street for the first
five years of Merrill's life. The townhouse was destroyed by bomb-making
"Weathermen" (associated with Students for a Democratic Society) in
March 1970.
Grew up in New York City, Southhampton, Long Island,
and Palm Beach, Florida; attended St. Bernard's School. Attended his first
opera at age 11.
1939
Parents divorce in February.
1939-43
Lawrenceville prep school.
1942
Early writings published by father as Jim's Book:
A Collection of Poems and Short Stories.
1943
Amherst College.
1944
Several months training in the US Army.
1945-46
Meets Kimon Friar on return to Amherst; their affair
broken up by his mother and father.
1946
The Black Swan published in Athens, Greece by Kimon Friar.
1947
The Birthday Party: A Play in Verse performed at Amherst.
Wins the Oscar Blumenthal Prize from Poetry magazine.
B. A., Amherst summa cum laude, with a senior essay
entitled "A la recherche du
temps perdu: Impressionism in Literature."
1947-50
Teaches at Bard College, 1948-49. Lives in New York.
1950-52
After visiting Kimon Friar in Greece, period in
Italy and Europe described in A Different Person.
1951
First Poems.
Begins therapy in Rome, 1951.
1953
The Bait
(play) produced in NY; meets David Jackson.
1954
Short Stories (poetry, limited edition).
Moves to Stonington, Connecticut with David Jackson.
1955
Merrill and Jackson's first contact with Ouija
spirits August 1955.
Teaches at Amherst; Immortal Husband (play) produced in New York.
1956
Death of Charles E. Merrill in October.
Merrill founds Ingram Merrill Foundation in 1956 to
aid artists and writers.
1957
Trip around the world with David Jackson.
Autobiographical novel, The Seraglio (reissued 1987).
1959
The Country of a Thousand Years of Peace (rev. ed. 1970).
1961
Selected Poems, first volume published in Great Britain
1962
Water Street
1964
Merrill and Jackson begin spending part of each year
in Athens, Greece.
1965
The (Diblos) Notebook, novel about his experiences in Greece and
relationship with Kimon Friar.
1966
Nights and Days wins National Book Award.
1967
Poet-in-Residence at University of Wisconsin in
Madison for eight weeks.
1968
Honorary Degree from Amherst
College.
1969 The Fire Screen.
1970
Visits Elizabeth Bishop in Brazil.
1972
Braving the Elements wins Bollingen Prize.
1974
The Yellow Pages.
1976
Divine Comedies wins Pulitzer Prize.
1978
Mirabell: Books of Number wins National Book Award.
1979
Merrill and Jackson begin spending winters in Key
West.
Appointed Chancellor of the American Academy of
Poets.
1980
Scripts for the Pageant.
1982
Honorary Degree from Yale University.
1982
The Changing Light at Sandover with Coda: The
Higher Keys wins National Book
Critics Circle Award.
From the First Nine: Poems 1946-1976.
1985
Late Settings
1986
Recitative: Prose
Appointed Connecticut's first Poet Laureate
1988
The Inner Room wins Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry (Library of Congress)
Begins developing a scenario from The Changing
Light entitled "Voices from
Sandover." Produced by Merrill's companion, Peter Hooten, who acted in the
role of Gabriel with Merrill playing himself.
1992
Selected Poems: 1946-1985.
1993
A Different Person: A Memoir
1995
A Scattering of Salts.
Spends the winter in Tucson, Arizona.
Died February 6, in Tucson, Arizona.
2001
Collected Poems.
2002
Collected Novels and Plays
2004
Collected Prose
Last revised February 2005.
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