Old Poets

“As a personalized introduction to the leading figures of modernism, no better book exists.”—New York Times“It’s impossible not to love Old Poets…an indispensable jewel…so rich, so packed with ideas and incident, any page reveals gold…”—Washington Post“An astonishing array of encounters…Hall’s observations are shrewd and generous.”—Boston Globe“If Old Poets only preserved Hall’s anecdotes and observations, it would be a fascinating document of literary history. But he is also a keen critic, drawing connections between the writer and his or her work.”—Adam Kirsch, Harvard Magazine“In Old Poets, the late poet Donald Hall opines on everything literary…and readers will vicariously experience outings with eminent poets.”—City Journal“ ‘Curiosity endures, surviving criticism or philosophy,’ affirms poet and critic Hall as he introduces a distinguished gallery of poets—Frost, Thomas, Eliot, Moore, MacLeish, Winters, Pound—with verisimilitude and freshness enough to satisfy readers. The most thorough portrait follows Hall’s relations with Eliot, disclosing a personality rather than a ‘monument’—an unusually humorous and surprisingly ‘American’ poet. And his reminiscences of the lonely, disconcerted Pound may be the book’s most insightful. Although Hall’s voice in these recollections and interviews is quiet, even self-effacing, he writes as a trustworthy and sympathetic witness, one who reveres his subjects: ‘Their presences have been emblems in my life, and I remember these poets as if I kept them carved in stone.’ ”—Publishers Weekly“Reading it again after all these years in this sparkling new edition, I see that Donald Hall’s book of memoirs and opinions, Old Poets, is one of those quirky triumphs of literature that he so admired. It is a great pleasure to read—frank, funny, and entertaining, but also serious and insightful, filled with a sense of mission and vocation. I find it candid, unabashed, and inspiring.”—Edward Hirsch

Donald Hall (1928 – 2018) was revered as a preeminent man of American letters. Hall served as U.S. Poet Laureate from 2006—2007, but was also considered among the greatest essayists of his time. In 2010, Hall was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama. Hall approached writing as he approached life–with simplicity, affection, and a wry wit.

Wesley McNair has twice been invited to read his poetry by the Library of Congress, served five times on the jury for the Pulitzer Prize in poetry, received the PEN New England Award for Literary Excellence in Poetry, and was honored with a United States Artists Fellowship as one of America’s “finest living artists.” His most recent work of poetry is Dwellers in the House of the Lord.