Published in Late Settings, "Days of 1941 and '44" recalls Lawrenceville School and Merrill using his diaries to become a "poet of memory." The poem is dedicated to David Mixsell, his arch-nemesis at Lawrenceville, who would die in Europe in World…
Published inBraving the Elements,"Days of 1935" was a fantasy narrative about being kidnapped as a boy, à la the "Lindbergh baby," reflecting a real fear the wealthy had after the kidnapping and death of Charles Lindbergh's infant son, in…
This entry includes two typescript draft pages (among the 40 worksheets Merrill saved) with holograph corrections and drawings showing his "engagement in verbal self-analysis" and reflecting "the intimate, brooding voice in Merrill's notebooks." The…