{"product_id":"james-merrill-postmodern-magus-evans-lansing-smith-9781587296963","title":"James Merrill, Postmodern Magus: Myth and Poetics","description":"One of the unique voices in our century, James Merrill was known for his mastery of prosody; his ability to write books that were not just collected poems but unified works in which each individual poem contributed to the whole; and his astonishing evolution from the formalist lyric tradition that influenced his early work to the spiritual epics of his later career. Merrill's accomplishments were recognized with a Pulitzer Prize in 1977 for \u003ci\u003eDivine Comedies \u003c\/i\u003eand a National Book Critics Circle Award in 1983 for \u003ci\u003eThe Changing Light at Sandover\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e In this meticulously researched, carefully argued work, Evans Lansing Smith argues that the nekyia, the circular Homeric narrative describing the descent into the underworld and reemergence in the same or similar place, confers shape and significance upon the entirety of James Merrill's poetry. Smith illustrates how pervasive this myth is in Merrill's work - not just in \u003ci\u003eThe Changing Light at Sandover\u003c\/i\u003e, where it naturally serves as the central premise of the entire trilogy, but in all of the poet's books, before and after that central text.\u003cbr\u003e By focusing on the details of versification and prosody, Smith demonstrates the ingenious fusion of form and content that distinguishes Merrill as a poet. Moving beyond purely literary interpretations of the poetry, Smith illuminates the numerous allusions to music, art, theology, philosophy, religion, and mythology found throughout Merrill's work.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Evans Lansing Smith\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1587296969\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781587296963\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Iowa Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/01\/2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 276\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.15lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.24h x 6.58w x 0.88d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChronicle of Higher Education\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/15\/2008 pg. 17\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2009","brand":"Evans Lansing Smith","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48742594969855,"sku":"9781587296963","price":49.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/james-merrill-postmodern-magus-evans-lansing-smith-9781587296963","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}