And, as I have said, it's made me think twice about the imagination. If the spirits aren't external, how astonishing the mediums become! Victor Hugo said of his voices that they were like his own mental powers multiplied by five. — James Merrill Copy Share Image
But those two plays left me on fresh terms with language. I didn't always have to speak in my own voice. — James Merrill Copy Share Image
I'd like to think the scientists need us - but do they? Did Newton need Blake? — James Merrill Copy Share Image
At college I'd seen my dead frog's limbs twitch under some applied stimulus or other - seen, but hadn't believed. Didn't dream of thinking… — James Merrill Copy Share Image
“Lost, is it, buried? One more missing piece? But nothing's lost. Or else: all is translation And every bit of us is lost in… — James Merrill Copy Share Image
I see those two hearts, I'm afraid, Still. Cool here in the graveyard of good and evil, They are even so to be honored… — James Merrill Copy Share Image
“Freedom to be oneself is all very well; the greater freedom is not to be oneself.” — James Merrill Copy Share Image
Arthur Young's Reflexive Universe - fascinating but too schematic to fit into my scheme. The most I could hope for was a sense of… — James Merrill Copy Share Image
Strange about parents. We have such easy access to them and such daunting problems of communication. — James Merrill Copy Share Image
And, as I have said, it's made me think twice about the imagination. If the spirits aren't external, how astonishing the mediums become! Victor… — James Merrill Copy Share Image
Knowing some Greek helped defuse forbidding words - not that I counted much on using them. You'll find only trace elements of this language… — James Merrill Copy Share Image
