''The Changing Light at Sandover'' is a 560-page epic

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

James Merrill James Ingram Merrill (March 3, 1926 – February 6, 1995) was an American poet. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1977 for ''Divine Comedies.'' His poetry falls into two distinct bodies of work: the polished and formalist lyri ...

(1926–1995). Sometimes described as a postmodern apocalyptic epic, the poem was published in three volumes from 1976 to 1980, and as one volume "with a new coda" by Atheneum (

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan R ...

) in 1982 (). Already established in the 1970s among the finest lyric poets of his generation, Merrill made a surprising detour by incorporating extensive occult messages into his work (although a poem from the 1950s, " Voices from the Other World", was the first of his works to quote such "otherworldly" voices). With his partner David Jackson, Merrill spent more than 20 years transcribing purportedly supernatural

communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...

s during

séance A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word ''séance'' comes from the French word for "session", from the Old French ''seoir'', "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, spea ...

s using a

ouija board The ouija ( , ), also known as a spirit board or talking board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the Latin alphabet, the numbers 0–9, the words "yes", "no", occasionally "hello" and "goodbye", along with various symbols and grap ...

. Merrill published his first ouija board narrative cycle in 1976, with a poem for each of the letters A through Z, calling it ''The Book of Ephraim''. It appeared in the collection '' Divine Comedies'' (Atheneum), which won the

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually for Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first presented in 1922, and is given for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author, published ...

in 1977."Poetry"
''Past winners & finalists by category''. The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2012-04-06. At the time he believed he had exhausted the inspiration provided by the ouija board. The "spirits", he believed, thought otherwise, however, "ordering" Merrill to write and publish further installments, '' Mirabell: Books of Number'' in 1978 (which won the

National Book Award for Poetry The National Book Award for Poetry is one of five annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation to recognize outstanding literary work by US citizens. They are awards "by writers to writers".

)"National Book Awards – 1979"

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established, "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America". Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: 'The Joy Luc ...

. Retrieved 2012-04-06.
(With essay Megan Snyder-Camp from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog—one "Appreciation" covering both Merrill's 1967 and 1979 Poetry awards.) and ''Scripts for the Pageant'' in 1980. The complete three-volume work, with a brief additional coda, appeared in one book titled ''The Changing Light at Sandover'' in 1982. ''Sandover'' received the

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".impersonate An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for impersonating someone: *Entertainment: An entertainer impersonates a celebrity, generally for entertainment, and makes fun of ...

the narrating voices of (deceased) poet

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...

and late friends

Maya Deren Maya Deren (born Eleonora Derenkowska, uk, Елеоно́ра Деренко́вська, links=no;

and Maria Mitsotáki. He also claimed to give voice to otherworldly spirits including a first-century Jew named Ephraim, and Mirabell (a ouija board guide). Merrill and his last partner, actor Peter Hooten, adapted the poem for a live ensemble reading at the Agassiz Theatre at Radcliffe College in 1990, a performance filmed and released as "Voices from Sandover". Acclaimed Polish actress

Elżbieta Czyżewska Elżbieta Justyna Czyżewska (May 14, 1938 – June 17, 2010) was a Polish actress active in both Poland and the United States. She gained critical acclaim in the early 1960s that culminated in breakthrough performances in ''The Saragossa Ma ...

played the role of Greek socialite Maria Mitsotáki. Writer Alison Lurie, a longtime friend of Merrill and Jackson, described her feelings about the creative genesis of the poem in her memoir ''Familiar Spirits'' (2001).

References

External links

The James Merrill Digital Archive: Materials for ''The Book of Ephraim''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Changing Light at Sandover, The Poetry by James Merrill 1982 books 1982 poems American poems Epic poems in English Atheneum Books books National Book Critics Circle Award-winning works Channelled texts