A Different Person: A Memoir

by James Merrill

A great American poet - winner of every major prize America can offer its poets, from the Pulitzer to the Bollingen - opens his life to us in a memoir that puts wit, sensibility, and elegance of mind to the service of unflinching autobiographical truth.
The memoir's central thread is Merrill's thirty-month sojourn in Europe. A youth of twenty-four, born to comfort and privilege, and now at a crossroads, he sets sail in 1950, with a young man's passionate expectations. Having sold his first book of poems, having recently met ("or so I thought") the love of his life, yet beginning to feel constrained by his social circles, and seeing no way into the next phase of his life, he envisions himself returning from his travels "a different person." His vivid stories of encounters across Europe - with friends and lovers, with great cities, with great works of art, with opera, with psychoanalysis, with artists and aristocrats - are followed by postscripts reaching back to childhood and forward towards the present and the person he is. His memoir enthralls as a revelation of a poet's life, as a portrayal of the complexities that bind a son to his parents, and as perhaps the most lucid and inward account we have had of a homosexual life in a world of intellect and art. A fascinating work. A literary event.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Poetry, Biography, LGBT, Gay

271 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

James Ingram Merrill was born on March 3, 1926, and died on February 6, 1995. From the mid-1950s on, he lived in Stonington, Connecticut, and for extended periods he also had houses in Athens and Key West. From The Black Swan (1946) through A Scattering of Salts (1995), he wrote twelve books of poems, ten of them published in trade editions, as well as The Changing Light at Sandover (1982). He also published two plays, The Immortal Husband (1956) and The Bait (1960); two novels, The Seraglio (1957, reissued in 1987) and The (Diblos) Notebook (1965, reissued 1994); a book of essays, interviews, and reviews, Recitative (1986); and a memoir, A Different Person (1993). Over the years, he was the winner of numerous awards for his poetry, including two National Book Awards, the Bollingen Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, and the first Bobbitt Prize from the Library of Congress. He was a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Reviews

[Neil Mudde · Rating 2 out of 5]

Never heard of James Merrill, but was intrigued by the title, not being a lover of poetry, I could not get around this Man/s writing at all.
It certainly is not a "coming out" book, or if it is it certainly is different
It would appear that Mr Merrill was born into privilege, and writes about his travels and lovers,and some of his family members, after having read several chapters, I came bored by it all and stopped reading it.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

the first few pages were dazzling -- the tone, mesmerizing. Scott has always seemed giddy about The Changing Light at Sandover -- which I have never read. I hope it's not one of those books where he worked really hard on the opening passages and scribbled the rest. Fingers crossed.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An old favorite--just wanted to vouch for it here.

[Fredrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

(P4) “Following me out the subway, my shadow wavered past a shop I’d never found open. Its dark window dingily lettered in gold: LUST’S BAKERY.”

(P166) “The point […] isn’t that a given life be ‘happy’ or ‘sad’ but that you have the appetite to live it.”

(P??) Szondi Test: A 1935 personality test by Léopold Szondi. One of the most discredited psychological tests. Consists of showing photos of patients whose personality had been classified as homosexual, sadist, epileptic, hysteric, catatonic, paranoid, depressive & maniac. Subject chooses two most appealing & two most repulsive. Choices reveal subject’s satisfied & unsatisfied dimensions of personality.

(P86) The Marrying Mdivanis: Five kids of General Zakhari & Elizabeth Mdivani. They fled to Paris after the Soviet invasion of Georgia & all married into fame & wealth, which they skillfully depleted.

(P48) Chamfort’s Maxims (book)

(P8) kirtle: A gown or outer petticoat; a man's tunic or coat.

(P21) Evzones: Historical elite infantry of Greek Army. Known for distinctive uniform, including the fustanella (kilt).

(P25) caique: Brightly painted fishing boat. Of late, a short excursion vessel used to make money from tourists.

(P31) faience: Term for fine tin-glazed pottery.

(P37) doxy (dated, offensive): A lover or mistress; a prostitute.

(P100) marcelling: Hair style in which hot curling tongs induce a curl. A famous wearer: Josephine Baker.

(P168) fichu: A small triangular shawl, worn around a woman's shoulders & neck.

[Douglas Forman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected a bit more from JM about his early development as a poet; instead this memoir of his time in Rome as a young man focuses on his various romantic relationships and his inability to be a mature partner. The memoir comes across a bit as a piece of self-analysis (fueled by his year of actual analysis by a Dr. Detre while he was in Rome.) Therefore we learn a lot about his relationships with his mother and father (who shows remarkable understanding of JM's homosexuality) and his affairs with Claude and Robert. Laudably, JM is not easy on the man he was at the time.

Still it was enjoyable to live vicariously through JM who, as a man of tremendous means, was able to spend a year in Rome and Greece steeping himself in high culture and conversing with some of the great literary names of the period.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was FUN. James Merrill, an honored poet and one of the children of the founder of Merrill Lynch, writes about all the time he spent in Europe after graduating from Amherst and his carnal experiences in Europe and back home in Connecticut, all in vague-ish terms but you get to read between the lines. I loved this glimpse into how the very rich live.

[James Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the 20th century's most intriguing American poets shares his candid and personal autobiography in this book. Together with Merrill's poetry, I really enjoyed reading this book. Anyone who wants to experience what it is like to be an artist who takes chances in all facets of his life should definitely read it, in my opinion.

[Bryna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirkily written and sometimes hard to follow, but generally a compelling, thoughtful and unique perspective on gay life, Europe and personal struggles in the 1950s. Merrill's story is inherently interesting, as the son of the creator of Merrill-Lynch and a privileged, brilliant poet. The book initially struck me as egotistical and pretentious, but won me over with Merrill's ultimate sense of compassion, objectivity and unwavering confidence about who he is and what he's about.

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

James Merrill, the poet, was the son of one of the co-founders of Merrill Lynch, and as such lived a cosseted and privileged life. This tells of his youthful life in Europe in the early 1950s, and he has a poet's skill for rendering the sights and exotic people he encountered.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poet James Merrill's "young gay man from privileged background" memoir. Good descriptions of European touring and literary life in the 1950s.

[F Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Merrill's memoir of his formative two years in Europe as a young man n the early 1950s. Interesting and beautifully written.