Browse Items (24 total)

Journal 50 contains Merrill's last poem draft, called "The Next to Last Scene," scribbled down (without his glasses) the day before he died of a heart attack. It was unusual for Merrill to title the first draft of a poem in his notebook.

Journal 59 includes numerous pages of early holograph notes and drafts toward "The Broken Home," one of which is included here. Merrill's most autobiographical poem to date, "The Broken Home" centered on his parents' troubled relationship. It was…

A poem draft with examples of wordplay, an important exercise for James Merrill throughout his writing life. This entry also contains notes on Ephraim and Cold War nuclear annihilation worries.

Notes on David McIntosh visit to Stonington coming to an end. This entry includes the first version of first two lines of "The Kimono."