A Carnival Of Losses

Former poet laureate of the United States Donald Hall’s final collection of essays, from the vantage point of very old age, once again “alternately lyrical and laugh-out-loud funny.”* *(New York Times) “Why should a nonagenarian hold anything back?” Donald Hall answers his own question in these self-knowing, fierce, and funny essays on aging, the pleasures of solitude, and the sometimes astonishing freedoms arising from both. Nearing ninety at the time of writing, he intersperses memories of exuberant days in his youth, with uncensored tales of literary friendships spanning decades—with James Wright, Richard Wilbur, Seamus Heaney, and other luminaries. Cementing his place alongside Roger Angell and Joan Didion as a generous and profound chronicler of loss, this final work is as original and searing as anything Hall wrote during his extraordinary literary lifetime. Essays on Aging: With the frank, unsentimental humor of a man nearing ninety, Hall shares his notes on everything from losing his teeth to the surprising freedoms of very old age. Literary Memoir: A worthy companion to the works of Joan Didion and Roger Angell, this collection cements Hall’s legacy as a profound and generous chronicler of a life fully lived. Life in New Hampshire: From the old family farmhouse that was his home for decades, Hall reflects on a rural life, the pleasures of solitude, and the ghosts of memory. Reflections on a Marriage: In poignant and clear-eyed remembrances, Hall writes about his extraordinary marriage to the poet Jane Kenyon, their shared life of writing, and his grief in the two decades since her death.