Lastingness
The Art of Old Age
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3.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
America grows older yet stays focused on its young. Whatever hill we try to climb, we're "over" it by fifty and should that hill involve entertainment or athletics we're finished long before. But if younger is better, it doesn't appear that youngest is best: we want our teachers, doctors, generals, and presidents to have reached a certain age. In context after context and contest after contest, we're more than a little conflicted about elders of the tribe; when is it right to honor them, and when to say "step aside"?
In Lastingness, Nicholas Delbanco, one of America's most celebrated men of letters, profiles great geniuses in the fields of visual art, literature, and music-Monet, Verdi, O'Keeffe, Yeats, among others - searching for the answers to why some artists' work diminishes with age, while others' reaches its peak. Both an intellectual inquiry into the essence of aging and creativity and a personal journey of discovery, this is a brilliant exploration of what determines what one needs to do to keep the habits of creation and achievement alive.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Why do so many creative minds become more productive and flourish with age? Delbanco (The Beaux Arts Trio), one of America's most influential literary writers and critics, tackles this question, brushing aside the national obsession with youth to measure mature artists hitting their stride while meeting the demands of old age. Whether in the concert hall, on canvas, or on the page, the quality of lastingness the ability to endure and hone one's talents despite advanced age or illness is not guaranteed to all artists. Quoting Cyril Connolly, Delbanco writes, "the best thing that can happen for a writer is to be taken up very late or very early. " He approaches the theme of constancy and durability with wit and colorful detail, listing the talents who have thrived in old age: Herman Melville, Doris Lessing, Harriet Doerr, Georgia O' Keeffe, Alice Munro, Alice Neel, Philip Roth, and William Trevor. Delbanco presents a balanced, informed dialogue that never bores or gets long-winded. In the end, the skillful artist adapts to meet challenges in life and renews his or her creative impulses.
