James Merrill was an American poet and the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1977. The winning collection was Divine Comedies. His work is usually separated into two categories, formal lyric poems, and epics about the occult. He also wrote plays and essays during his career.
‘The Victor Dog’ by James Merrill is a humorous, yet deep poem that puts the listener in the position of a dog listening to music, hearing but not understanding the complexity of its art.
Bix to Buxtehude to Boulez.
The little white dog on the Victor label
Listens long and hard as he is able.
It’s all in a day’s work, whatever plays.
‘A Renewal’ by James Merrill describes the plight of a speaker who tries to end a relationship but, as soon as they successfully do so, our struck by a violent resurgence of the same love that they had lost.