"Investiture at Cecconi's"
David Kalstone (right) in Venice in 1974, with Edmund White (center) and Alfred Corn (left).
The Palazzo Barbaro where Kalstone rented rooms and where Merrill stayed with him in 1983.
The Tailors at Cecconi's. See The Venetian Tailoring School: Galletti and Cecconi.
This site provides students and fans of James Merrill with an introduction and background to his poem dedicated to David Kalstone, "Investiture at Cecconi's" (Raritan [Winter 1987], 12-13; Collected Poems [New York: Knopf, 2002], 580.)
The links to this site appear in the left margin. Commentary on the poem appears in the left margin under "Introduction to Three Late Poems" and "Survey of Literary Criticism." All material is copyrighted. For questions, contact Timothy Materer.