[Organization]

Night 131

1) "2. Sancta Sophia." Ink, pencil, draft paper. One sketch.

Night 132

2. "Istanbul. 21 March." Pen, pencil, bond paper.

Night 133

3. "Acres of ocher plaster." Pen, pencil, bond paper.

Night 134

4. "THE CURE." Pen, pencil, bond paper.

Night 135

5. "3. CARNIVALS." Pen, pencil, bond paper.

Night 136

6. "In resurrection. Pen, pencil, bond paper.

Night 137

7. ". . . faced with such constant bickering." Pen, pencil, bond paper.

Night 138

8. "Band of the steam heat's dissonant calypso." Pen, pencil, bond paper.

Night 139

9. ". . . faced with such constant bickering." Pen, pencil, bond paper.

Night 141

10. "Band of the steam heat's delicate calypso." Pen, pencil, bond paper.

These manuscripts are examples of what Merrill said was the "patchwork" that saw the poems "all stitched together."

In "An Interview with Donald Sheenan," Merrill said: "I never dreamed, when 'The Thousand and Second Night' began to take shape, that it would be as long as it is. I couldn't forsee the structure of the poem. I was working on what seemed rather unrelated poems, then suddenly an afternoon of patchwork saw them all stitched together. What emerged as the final section had been written quite early in the process." (Collected Prose, ed. J. D. McClatchy & Stephen Yenser, NY: Knopf, 2004: 54.)