Essays After Eighty, by Donald Hall
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Essays After Eighty, by Donald Hall
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"Alternately lyrical and laugh-out-loud funny."—New York Times “Deliciously readable . . . Donald Hall, if abandoned by the muse of poetry, has wrought his prose to a keen autumnal edge.” — Wall Street Journal His entire life, Donald Hall has dedicated himself to the written word, putting together a storied career as a poet, essayist, and memoirist. Now, in the “unknown, unanticipated galaxy” of very old age, he is writing essays that startle, move, and delight. In Essays After Eighty, Hall ruminates on his past: “thirty was terrifying, forty I never noticed because I was drunk, fifty was best with a total change of life, sixty extended the bliss of fifty . . .” He also addresses his present: “When I turned eighty and rubbed testosterone on my chest, my beard roared like a lion and gained four inches.” Most memorably, Hall writes about his enduring love affair with his ancestral Eagle Pond Farm and with the writing life that sustains him every day: “Yesterday my first nap was at 9:30 a.m., but when I awoke I wrote again.” “Alluring, inspirational hominess . . . Essays After Eighty is a treasure . . . balancing frankness about losses with humor and gratitude.” — Washington Post “A fine book of remembering all sorts of things past, Essays After Eighty is to be treasured.” — Boston Globe
Essays After Eighty, by Donald Hall- Amazon Sales Rank: #254710 in Books
- Published on: 2015-11-03
- Released on: 2015-11-03
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.00" h x .38" w x 5.31" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 144 pages
Review "As this book shows, Hall...has not lost his touch. Laconic, witty, and lyrical, Hall is a master stylist, yet he remains refreshingly humble and matter-of-fact ...By exploring the joys and vicissitudes of a long life, this work offers revealing insights into the human condition—and the grit and openness it requires." --Publishers Weekly, starred review "The writing life at age 85...[A] sense of joy infuses these gentle essays. "Old age sits in a chair," writes Hall, "writing a little and diminishing." For the author, writing has been, and continues to be, his passionate revenge against diminishing. " --Kirkus Reviews"Wry, tangy prose...Many readers may find themselves hoping they’ll be this cogent and canny when they’re “after 80.” --Booklist"Deliciously readable...Donald Hall, if abandoned by the muse of poetry, has wrought his prose to a keen autumnal edge."--Wall Street Journal "alternately lyrical and laugh-out-loud funny...seductive frankness and bracing precision."--New York Times Science Times "alluring, inspirational hominess....Essays After Eighty is a treasure...balancing frankness about losses with humor and gratitude."--Washington Post "In this collection of 14 essays, the literary lion chews over his life-in-letters with a deft wit...[Hall] is caustic, funny, wise without being didactic, and even sexy."--Chicago Tribune "instinct with humor and mischievousness...A fine book of remembering all sorts of things past, Essays After Eighty is to be treasured."--Boston Globe "refreshingly direct, efficient, down-to-earth (also earthy), and witty...These deeply human moments enlighten — even comfort the reader — when Donald Hall converts them into engaging and memorable language...Essays After Eighty is lively testimony to his having done the one thing he always wanted to do — write it! — and doing it better than most of us can even dream of doing."--Los Angeles Review of Books"Donald Hall is a master of language, observation and surprise...poignant and blunt...Hall is reliably colorful and eloquent across the board."--Portland Press Herald "The prose of Essays After Eighty is a poet’s prose. Hall is working with sentence and paragraph, not line and stanza, but every word counts. Concrete images propel his sentences, and he is a master of momentum and suspense. The reader sees or tastes a moment and yearns to know what happens next."--Concord Monitor
From the Inside Flap “Laconic, witty, and lyrical, Hall is a master stylist, yet he remains refreshingly humble and matter-of-fact about fame (his and others) . . . By exploring the joys and vicissitudes of a long life, [Essays After Eighty] offers revealing insights into the human condition—and the grit and openness it requires.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review Former poet laureate Donald Hall has lived a remarkable life of letters, a career capped by a National Medal of Arts, awarded by the president. Now, in the “unknown, unanticipated galaxy” of very old age, he is writing searching essays that startle, move, and delight. In the transgressive and horrifyingly funny “No Smoking,” he looks back over his lifetime, and several of his ancestors’ lifetimes, of smoking unfiltered cigarettes, packs of them every day. Hall paints his past: “Decades followed each other — thirty was terrifying, forty I never noticed because I was drunk, fifty was best with a total change of life, sixty extended the bliss of fifty . . .” And poignantly, often joyfully, he limns his present: “When I turned eighty and rubbed testosterone on my chest, my beard roared like a lion and gained four inches.” Hall writes about a car trip through post–World War II Yugoslavia, his deep depression after being appointed poet laureate, his regard for garlic—and, most memorably, about his enduring love affair with his ancestral Eagle Pond Farm and with the writing life that sustains him every day: “Yesterday my first nap was at 9:30 a.m., but when I awoke I wrote again.”
From the Back Cover “Deliciously readable . . . Donald Hall, if abandoned by the muse of poetry, has wrought his prose to a keen autumnal edge.” — Wall Street Journal His entire life, Donald Hall has dedicated himself to the written word, putting together a storied career as a poet, essayist, and memoirist. Now, in the “unknown, unanticipated galaxy” of very old age, he is writing essays that startle, move, and delight. In Essays After Eighty, Hall ruminates on his past: “thirty was terrifying, forty I never noticed because I was drunk, fifty was best with a total change of life, sixty extended the bliss of fifty . . .” He also addresses his present: “When I turned eighty and rubbed testosterone on my chest, my beard roared like a lion and gained four inches.” Most memorably, Hall writes about his enduring love affair with his ancestral Eagle Pond Farm and with the writing life that sustains him every day: “Yesterday my first nap was at 9:30 a.m., but when I awoke I wrote again.” “Alluring, inspirational hominess . . . Essays After Eighty is a treasure . . . balancing frankness about losses with humor and gratitude.” — Washington Post “A fine book of remembering all sorts of things past, Essays After Eighty is to be treasured.” — Boston Globe DONALD HALL, who served as poet laureate of the United States from 2006 to 2007, is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a recipient of the National Medal of Arts.
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64 of 64 people found the following review helpful. Old age isn't for sissies By Personne Donald Hall no longer writes poetry and that's our loss. But he shows considerable powers as an essayist in this concentrated little set. There's a nice circularity here: he begins with a description of his day--compressed into just a few small rooms of his old farmhouse. He then takes us through a group of set pieces, a newlywed drive through Yugoslavia, illnesses that stole a wife, honors (and dishonors), and then increasing infirmities that bring us back to life in the here and now. There are moments of great seriousness, but just as many that show a wonderful dry wit (his one-sentence description of Mick Jagger is worth the entire book).At most times, Hall maintains a certain distance: just as he did in his poetry. He's not dispassionate, but instead he's leaving room for the readers to experience their own emotions--to inhabit the world with him. This is not what you might expect from a valedictory, but it shows a real generosity. He's not preparing to die. Instead he's learning to live in a smaller world.I'm now at the boundary between late middle age and whatever we might call the next stage. Most of Hall's experience of old age lies in front of me (let's hope). But much of what I see in my ancient parents and their diminishing circle is well-described here. It's an interesting land of hope, disappointment and grace.
68 of 74 people found the following review helpful. A fresh old voice (and a beautiful little book) By julesinrose This is a wonderful (but slim) collection of essays; Donald Hall's musings on his past and present. He is (obviously) in his eighties, and his voice is clear. In our youth obsessed culture, we need to hear more from the old and for that alone I am glad for this book.I don't appreciate reading synopses of books, so I won't write one, and anyway, this volume is thin enough that telling you much about it would spoil the fun of reading. I came to it fresh, not having read him before (indeed), and found it a wonderful read. Mr. Hall's style is spare, pointedly witty, and often wise.I read this book on an afternoon where we had no power in our home in Maine; I read bits aloud to my husband. We're in our late fifties and live in a town where we are on the younger side of middle and old age. So, reading this spoke to much of our condition.So, we (not just I) enjoyed Mr. Hall's sharing of his life and memories, and sharing his gratitude for that life, both past and present. Even more, I enjoyed that he did so without veering into either sweet sentimentality or the (terribly overdone) stance of an old curmudgeon. He has led a good and robust life and still does, though now from a wheelchair. There's no self pity in that; the life of his mind is rich indeed, and he had led a fairly charmed and privileged life before (and I suppose he still does).We need to understand the richness of simply looking out a window. Mr. Hall tells us about this without preaching it. He may be an old man, but his voice sounds totally fresh. He is simply telling us what life has been and is for him. He is a writer, so he writes it. And anyway, this isn't a self help book.I've written enough; I'm not a writer, but Mr. Hall certainly is.In all, I felt I'd spent an afternoon with someone I'm glad I met. Hall's beautiful writing was a pleasure to read and I can not recommend a book more highly. Now I'll go back and read what came before.
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful. I'm so glad I requested this book By Marilyn Dalrymple I'm so glad I requested this book. It's beautifully written, lyrical. Amazing and tells the truth without apology. I would recommend this book to anyone, but particularly the young so they can see "inside" aging. I would recommend it to the elderly so they will know they are not alone and don't just imagine things that are said, happening and done to them.I'm putting this on my all time favorite books shelf along with The Secret Garden and John Steinbeck's writings.
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