"How blessed were we, the Village of Stonington and all of us, to have been able to know and love James Ingram Merrill. To have the icon of American literature living here, acting just like one of us, an ordinary citizen, for forty-plus years, while touching our lives with light" (Boatwright 1). The strong statement, made by Mrs. Boatwright at the dedication of the James Merrill Reading Room, "...the icon of American literature..." reflects just what James Merrill was, an inspiration, a pioneer, and an icon of American literature that was looked upon by such poets as Robert Frost.

James Ingram Merrill was born in New York City on March 3, 1926. He grew up in Manhattan and Southampton. He was the son of Charles E. Merrill, a co-founder of the brokerage firm now known as Merrill Lynch, an investment-banking firm (Britannica 1), and his second wife, Hellen Ingram Merrill, who published a small newspaper (Keene 1). James' home life was filled with wealth and privilege. As he was growing up he attended mostly private schools, and did a lot of personal study. He was taught both French and German. A passion from childhood onward was music, especially opera, to which he was introduced at the

From the First Nine: Poems 1946-1976 was printed in New York: Atheneum, 1982. It collects in one volume all the poems James Merrill wished to preserve from his first nine trade books, that is, from The Black Swan through Divine Comedies. A postscript poem, "Clearing the Title", first published in 1980, was added.

Devine Comedies was printed in New York: Atheneum, 1976. It was reprinted in New York: Atheneum, 1977. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1977. Te first half is comprised of nine poems, most quite long, including the puzzle-piece, "Lost in Translation", dedicated to Richard Howard. The second half is taken up with "The Book of Ephraim".

Metamorphosis of 741 was printed in Pawlet, Vermont: The Banyan Press, 1977. At the time of this printing, "Metamorphosis of 741" was described as a section from a still untitled larger poem. Later found out it was sections of Mirabell: Books of Number.

Short Stories was printed in Pawlet, Vermont: The Banyan Press, 1954. It was a compilation of nine poems dedicated to David Jackson. All but one of the poems, "Gothic Novel," is reiterated five years later in The Country of a Thousand Years of Peace and Other Poems.

Critic David Kalstone has called the book "the classic Merrill volume--jaunty, penetrating and secure."

The sixties brought poems such as Water Street, Nights and Days and The Fire Screen. Water Street was printed in New York: Antheneum, 1962. It is titled after the street in Stonington, Connecticut where he and David had lived since 1956. This book begins with a long poem, "An Urban Convalescence", reflecting on life in New York City, and ends with, "A Tenancy", about a more settled life in the Stonington house.

The Yellow Pages: 59 poems was printed in St. Louis: privately printed, 1971. It was reprinted in Cambridge, Massachusetts: Temple Bar Bookshop, 1974. Temple Bar Bookshop brought out substantially the same collection of poems as the privately printed edition of the same title.

The Fire Screen was printed in New York: Antheneum, 1969. This book was dedicated to David. The poem, "Mornings in a New House", may be viewed in some respects as the title poem of the collection.

The Academy of American Poets. "James Merrill."

Scripts for the Pageant was printed in New York: Atheneum, 1980. It is the concluding volume for the epic of the long poem. Charles Berger has described the epic as "what may well be the most astonishing poem ever written by an American.... For Mirabell and Scripts raise so many profound questions about sacred poetry and the relation of the individual to the cosmos, that evading their doctrines would also entail ignoring the wisdom literature of Merrill's greatest predecessors--poets such as Dante, Homer, Milton, Blake."

Yannina was printed in New York: The Phoenix Book Shop, 1973. This important long poem, dedicated to Stephen Yenser, first appeared in The Saturday Review and was later collected in Divine Comedies.

Some common words found in the essay are:
James Merrill, York Atheneum, Ingram Merrill, Swan Icarus, French German, Black Swan, Flightless Bird, Alfred Knopf, John Hollander, Immortal Hisband, printed york, james merrill, york atheneum, printed york atheneum, national book, national book award, mirabell books, copyright ã, american literature, icon american, keene 1, icon american literature, book award, country thousand peace, changing light sandover,
Approximate Word count = 2133
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)