David Noyes Jackson (September 16, 1922 – July 13, 2001) was the

life partner The term significant other (SO) has different uses in psychology and in colloquial language. Colloquially, "significant other" is used as a gender-neutral term for a person's partner in an intimate relationship without disclosing or presuming ...

of poet

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).

Life

A writer and artist, Jackson is remembered today primarily for his literary collaboration with Merrill. The two men met in May 1953 in New York City, after a performance of Merrill's play, "The Bait." They shared homes in

Stonington, Connecticut The town of Stonington is located in New London County, Connecticut in the state's southeastern corner. It includes the borough of Stonington (borough), Connecticut, Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Connecticut, Pawcatuck, Lords Point, and W ...

Key West, Florida Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Isla ...

, and

Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. "It was, I often thought, the happiest marriage I knew," wrote

Alison Lurie Alison Stewart Lurie (September 3, 1926December 3, 2020) was an American novelist and academic. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her 1984 novel '' Foreign Affairs''. Although better known as a novelist, she wrote many non-fiction boo ...

, who got to know both men in the 1950s and thought enough of the relationship to write a memoir about it more than forty years later, ''Familiar Spirits'' (2001). Over the course of decades conducting

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, spe ...

s with 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 and Jackson took down

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

transcriptions and messages from otherworldly entities. Merrill's and Jackson's ouija transcriptions were first published in verse form in ''The Book of Ephraim'' (printed for the first time in ''

Divine Comedies {{italic title ''Divine Comedies'' is the seventh book of poetry by James Merrill (1926–1995). Published in 1976 (see 1976 in poetry), the volume includes " Lost in Translation" and all of ''The Book of Ephraim''. ''The Book of Ephraim'' is t ...

'', 1976, which was awarded the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

in 1977). Many critics consider Jackson to be a kind of co-writer, certainly the

catalyst Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

if not the

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

, for much of James Merrill's most significant poetic output. ''

The Book of Ephraim ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1976), '' Mirabell: Books of Number'' (1978), and ''

Scripts for the Pageant Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

'' (1980) were all written with Jackson's assistance. Together, they constitute the epic trilogy ''

The Changing Light at Sandover ''The Changing Light at Sandover'' is a 560-page epic poem by James Merrill (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 cod ...

'', a 560-page apocalyptic poem published in its entirety in 1982. He and James Merrill are buried side by side at Evergreen Cemetery, Stonington. Jackson's former wife and Merrill's friend, Doris Sewell Jackson is buried behind them.

Gallery

File:James Merrill and David Jackson House, Key West, FL.jpg, James Merrill and David Jackson House, Key West, Florida File:Evergreen Cemetery, Stonington, CT.jpg, Jackson and Merrill graves, Evergreen Cemetery, Stonington, Connecticut

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, David Noyes Gay artists 1922 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American artists 20th-century American writers American gay writers 20th-century LGBT people