James Merrill : Descending a Spiral Staircase, talk by Langdon Hammer

Yale professor Langdon Hammer explores how and why James Merrill and David Jackson made Stonington their home, who signed the guest book (and who didn't), and what their queer life together was like. The title of Hammer's talk refers to a remark in James Merrill's memoir: "As in the classic account of Sarah Bernhardt descending a spiral staircase--she stood still and it revolved around her—my good fortune was to stay in one place while the closet simply disintegrated.” This event is free and open to the public.