A whole world: letters from James Merrill
(Book)
Description
"The selected correspondence of a literary master and one of the twentieth century's last great letter writers. "I don't keep a journal, not after the first week," James Merrill (1926-1995) asserted in a letter to a friend. "Letters have got to bear all the burden." A vivacious correspondent--writing eagerly and often to family and lifelong friends, American and Greek lovers, confidants in literature and art--Merrill pondered aesthetics, opera and painting, housekeeping and cooking, the comedy of social life, the mysteries of the Ouija board and the spirit world, his travels around the globe, and psychological and moral dilemmas in funny, dashing, unrevised missives, composed to entertain himself as well as his correspondents. On a personal nemesis: "the ambivalence I live with. It worries me less and less. It becomes the very stuff of my art;" on a lunch for Wallace Stevens given by Mrs. Knopf: "It had been decided by one and all that nothing but small talk would be allowed"; on romance in his late fifties: "I must stop acting like an orphan gobbling cookies in fear of the plate's being taken away"; on great books: "they burn us like radium, with their decisiveness, their terrible understanding of what happens." Merrill's daily chronicle of love and loss is unfettered, self-critical, full of good gossip, and attuned to the telling detail--a natural extension of the great poet's voice"--
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Citations
Merrill, J., Hammer, L., & Yenser, S. (2021). A whole world: letters from James Merrill. First edition. New York, Alfred A. Knopf.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Merrill, James, 1926-1995, Langdon Hammer and Stephen, Yenser. 2021. A Whole World: Letters From James Merrill. New York, Alfred A. Knopf.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Merrill, James, 1926-1995, Langdon Hammer and Stephen, Yenser, A Whole World: Letters From James Merrill. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2021.
MLA Citation (style guide)Merrill, James, et al. A Whole World: Letters From James Merrill. First edition. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2021.
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Record Information
| Last Sierra Extract Time | Jun 28, 2024 05:32:02 AM |
|---|---|
| Last File Modification Time | Jun 28, 2024 05:32:24 AM |
| Last Grouped Work Modification Time | Jun 28, 2024 05:32:11 AM |
MARC Record
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|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | ocm21557919 | ||
| 005 | 20200609120851.0 | ||
| 008 | 200609s2021 nyuaf g 001 0deng d | ||
| 010 | |a 2020026454 | ||
| 020 | |a 9781101875506 |q (hardcover) | ||
| 040 | |a DLC |b eng |e rda |c DLC |d nw |d WAL | ||
| 042 | |a pcc | ||
| 050 | 0 | 0 | |a PS3525.E6645 |b Z48 2021 |
| 082 | 0 | 0 | |a 811/.54 |a B |2 23 |
| 100 | 1 | |a Merrill, James, |d 1926-1995, |e author. | |
| 240 | 1 | 0 | |a Correspondence. |k Selections |
| 245 | 1 | 2 | |a A whole world : |b letters from James Merrill / |c edited by Langdon Hammer and Stephen Yenser. |
| 250 | |a First edition. | ||
| 264 | 1 | |a New York : |b Alfred A. Knopf, |c 2021. | |
| 300 | |a xxiii, 700 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : |b illustrations ; |c 25 cm | ||
| 336 | |a text |b txt |2 rdacontent | ||
| 337 | |a unmediated |b n |2 rdamedia | ||
| 338 | |a volume |b nc |2 rdacarrier | ||
| 500 | |a "This is a Borzoi book" | ||
| 500 | |a Includes index. | ||
| 520 | |a "The selected correspondence of a literary master and one of the twentieth century's last great letter writers. "I don't keep a journal, not after the first week," James Merrill (1926-1995) asserted in a letter to a friend. "Letters have got to bear all the burden." A vivacious correspondent--writing eagerly and often to family and lifelong friends, American and Greek lovers, confidants in literature and art--Merrill pondered aesthetics, opera and painting, housekeeping and cooking, the comedy of social life, the mysteries of the Ouija board and the spirit world, his travels around the globe, and psychological and moral dilemmas in funny, dashing, unrevised missives, composed to entertain himself as well as his correspondents. On a personal nemesis: "the ambivalence I live with. It worries me less and less. It becomes the very stuff of my art;" on a lunch for Wallace Stevens given by Mrs. Knopf: "It had been decided by one and all that nothing but small talk would be allowed"; on romance in his late fifties: "I must stop acting like an orphan gobbling cookies in fear of the plate's being taken away"; on great books: "they burn us like radium, with their decisiveness, their terrible understanding of what happens." Merrill's daily chronicle of love and loss is unfettered, self-critical, full of good gossip, and attuned to the telling detail--a natural extension of the great poet's voice"-- |c Provided by publisher. | ||
| 600 | 1 | 0 | |a Merrill, James, |d 1926-1995 |v Correspondence. |
| 650 | 0 | |a Poets, American |y 20th century |v Correspondence. | |
| 700 | 1 | |a Hammer, Langdon, |d 1958- |e editor. | |
| 700 | 1 | |a Yenser, Stephen, |e editor. | |
| 776 | 0 | 8 | |i Online version: |a Merrill, James, 1926-1995. |t A whole world |d New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2021. |z 9781101875513 |w (DLC) 2020026455 |
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