Selected Poems, 1946-1985 [Paperback]

James Merrill (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

16.ix.65
18 West 11th Street (house Exploded By 'weathermen' .. 1970)
About The Phoenix
After Greece
After The Ball
After The Fire
Amsterdam
Angel
Annie Hill's Grave
Another August
Banks Of A Stream Where Creatures Bathe
The Black Mesa
The Black Swan
The Blue Eye
The Blue Grotto
The Broken Bowl
The Broken Home
Bronze
A Carpet Not Bought
Channel 13
The Charioteer Of Delphi
Charles On Fire
Childlessness
Chimes For Yahya
Clearing The Title
The Country Of A Thousand Years Of Peace
The Current
David's Night In Velies
Days Of 1935
Days Of 1941 And '44
Days Of 1964
Days Of 1971
A Dedication
Domino
The Doodler
Dream (escape From The Sculpture Museum) And Waking
Dream About Clothes
Five Old Favorites: 1. A Dream Of Old Vienna
Five Old Favorites: 2. The Midnight Snack
Five Old Favorites: 3. Sundown And Starlight
Five Old Favorites: 4. Event Without Patrticulars
Five Old Favorites: 5. The Dandelion Sermon
Fleche D'or
For Proust
The Friend Of The Fourth Decade
From A Notebook
From The Cupola
Grass
Hotel De L'univers Et Portugal
Hourglass
The House
The House Fly
In Nine Sleep Valley
In The Hall Of Mirrors
Islands In The Works
The Kimono
Komboloi
Kostas Tympakianakis
Last Mornings In California
Last Words
Little Fanfare For Felix Magowan
Log
Lorelei
Lost In Translation; For Richard Howard
The Mad Scene
Maisie
Manos Karastefanis
Marsyas
Matinees
Mckane's Falls
Mirror
Mornings In A New House
A Narrow Escape
Nightgown
Nike
The Octopus
Olive Grove
Orfeo
Ouzo For Robin
Page From The Koran
The Parrot Fish
The Peacock
Peter
The Pier: Under Pisces
Prism
Radiometer
Remora
A Renewal
River Poem
Roger Clay's Proposal
Salome
Santo
Santorini: Stopping The Leak
Scenes Of Childhood
The School Play
The Smile
Strato In Plaster
The Summer People
Swimming By Night
Syrinx
A Tenancy
The Thousand And Second Night
Three Chores: 1. Water Boiling
Three Chores: 2. Night Laundry
Three Chores: 3. Italian Lesson
Time
To A Butterfly
To My Greek
Topics 1. Casual Wear
Topics 2. Popular Demand
Topics 3. Caesarion
Transfigured Bird
Trees Listening To Bach
Under Libra: Weights And Measures
Up And Down: 1. Snow King Chair Lift
Up And Down: 2. The Emerald
An Urban Convalescence
Variations: The Air Is Sweetest That A Thistle Guards: 1
Variations: The Air Is Sweetest That A Thistle Guards: 2
Variations: The Air Is Sweetest That A Thistle Guards: 3
Variations: The Air Is Sweetest That A Thistle Guards: 4
Variations: The Air Is Sweetest That A Thistle Guards: 5
Variations: The Air Is Sweetest That A Thistle Guards: 6
Verse For Urania
The Victor Dog
Violent Pastoral
A Vision Of The Garden
Voices From The Other World
The Will
Willow
Willowware Cup
Words For Maria
The World And The Child
Yannina
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Knopf (September 7, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679747311
• ISBN-13: 978-0679747314
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,605,939 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A technically brilliant, superb poet and a great collection, February 13, 2000

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A reader (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Selected Poems, 1946-1985 (Paperback)

Merrill is known for his technical brilliance, even rescuing lost verse forms from obscurity. He has been accused of arch intellectualism, and many readers detect a certain lack of emotion between the lines, but while these criticisms are likely true, lovers of formalist poetry should take the time to read him, for he is marvellous, witty, and urbane. Fans of Stevens, Moore, Ashbery and Bishop will most likely warm to Merrill.

"Charles on Fire" is a good place to start, but "Lost in Translation", which appears in the collection "Divine Comedies" is my favorite. I have read this poem dozens of times, and will likely never tire of it.

And if you're ready for more, by all means, take on "The Changing Light at Sandover", his magnum opus, an eccentric, occult masterpiece.