INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
Yale Younger Poets
Each year, a James Merrill House residency and stipend is reserved for the winner of the Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize. Started in 1991, the Yale award is the longest running and, arguably, the most prestigious poetry competition in the United States. Our partnership with Yale University Press and our association with the Yale Series of Younger Poets prize is a natural one given our Connecticut location and the fact that James Merrill served as judge for seven terms during the 1980s. Two winners from that era, Daniel Hall and Brigit Pegeen Kelly, went on to become Merrill House Fellows. Earlier winners of the prize include such talents as Adrienne Rich, John Ashbery, and Robert Hass.
Washington University in St. Louis
Intended as a resource for scholars, students, writers, and teachers, the James Merrill Digital Archive currently provides digital access to a small cross-section from the James Merrill Papers housed in Special Collections at Washington University in St. Louis. The James Merrill Papers consist of original manuscripts, drafts, typescripts, diaries, reading notes, college materials, ephemera, and photographs, extensive correspondence with his family, friends, and business associates. Audiovisual and personal material document other aspects of Merrill’s life.
Stonington High School
Each year the James Merrill House Committee awards the James Merrill Prize for Creative Writing to a graduating senior nominated by Stonington High School. The 2024 recipient was Nina Robbins.