Lastingness: The Art of Old Age

by Nicholas Delbanco

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 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.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Sociology

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 24, 2011

About the author

Nicholas Delbanco is the Robert Frost Distinguished University Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan and Chair of the Hopwood Committee. He has published twenty-five books of fiction and non-fiction. His most recent novels are The Count of Concord and Spring and Fall; his most recent works of non-fiction are The Countess of Stanlein Restored and The Lost Suitcase: Reflections on the Literary Life. As editor he has compiled the work of, among others, John Gardner and Bernard Malamud. The long-term Director of the MFA Program as well as the Hopwood Awards Program at the University of Michigan, he has served as Chair of the Fiction Panel for the National Book Awards, received a Guggenheim Fellowship and, twice, a National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship. Professor Delbanco has just completed a teaching text for McGraw-Hill entitled Literature: Craft and Voice, a three-volume Introduction to Literature of which he is the co-editor with Alan Cheuse; in 2004 he published The Sincerest Form: Writiing Fiction by Imitation. His new non-fiction book, Lastingness: The Art of Old Age will be published by Grand Central Publishing in 2011.
Full Biography

NOTE: The following biography was composed in 2000 by Jon Manchip White and reflects information only up to and including that year.

Nationality: American. Born: London, England, 1942. Education: Harvard University, B.A. 1963; Columbia University, M.A. 1966. Career: Member of Department of Language and Literature, Bennington College, Bennington, Vermont, 1966-84, writing workshop director, 1977-84; professor of English, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York, 1984-85; Robert Frost Professor of English Language and Literature, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1985—. Awards: National Endowment for the Arts creative writing award, 1973, 1982; National Endowment of Composers and Librettists fellowship, 1976; Guggenheim fellowship, 1980; Woodrow Wilson fellowship; Edward John Noble fellowship; New York State CAPS Award; Vermont Council of the Arts Award; Michigan Council of the Arts Award. Agent: Brandt & Brandt Literary Agents, Inc., 1501 Broadway, New York, New York 10036, U.S.A.

As a novelist, Nicholas Delbanco can be considered doubly fortunate in that he has always been able to draw inspiration and sustenance from two continents and two cultures.

Of Italian and German descent, he was born in London at the height of the German Blitz, and his family did not depart for America until he was six, and he was not naturalized as an American citizen until he was eleven. It is not surprising that, though later he would anchor himself firmly in New England and particularly in Vermont, and more recently in Michigan as the Robert Frost Professor of English Language and Literature, the influence of his European origins would play a consistent part in his fiction and non-fiction alike.

The cultural ambivalence, if such it may be called, manifested itself early. At Harvard, his B.A. thesis was devoted to a joint study of Rilke and Heredia, two noteworthy wanderers, and the subject of his M.A. thesis was that tragic outcast, Malcolm Lowry. Examining the numerous novels Delbanco has published to date, one finds that only five are set exclusively in the United States and that the majority are set, either in whole or part, in Provence, Tuscany, Greece, Switzerland, or as far afield as Barbados and Mexico. Several of his non-fiction books are concerned with Europe, one of them a study of that remarkable group of literary exiles, including Conrad, Crane, and James, who lived and worked together in a small corner of England at the turn of the last century. Indeed, one of the courses Delbanco has taught over the years is specifically entitled “Exiles,” and is devoted to Becket, Conrad, and Nabokov, while other courses have featured a gallery of roving and displaced novelists such as Joyce, Lawrence, Forster, Ford, Mann, Fitzgerald, and He

Reviews

[Helen Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book, about the lives of geniuses in the world of art, literature. The author, Nicholas Delbanco, takes us inside their lives to learn what happens to artists who endure. Why is someone creative until age 30, and then never again? How do some artists continue to expand their talent, energy, enthusiasm, and skill through many decades past middle-age? In his thoughtful analysis, Delbanco lets us explore the life-long habits that kept people such as Haydn, Monet, Picasso, Pablo Casals, and Georgia O’Keeffe productive and relevant into old age.

And, to remind us the second half of existence needn’t be a period of decline, Delbanco quotes C.J. Jung:

“But we cannot live the afternoon of life according to the program of life’s morning: for what was great in the morning will be little at evening, and what in the morning was true will at evening have become a lie.”

Enjoy Lastingness for what it offers: both a studied look at the issues of aging and creativity, as well as a delightful way to brush up on history, recalling the works of nonagenarians and octogenarians who were amazing artists, still appreciated today.

Helen Gallagher

[Orbs n Rings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inquisitively interesting view, sometimes raw, of the creative mind into old age.

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.

I feel every bone aching as I write this review. Not sure what to expect with this one although pleasantly surprised. Being a previous Psychology major who has hit that 45 mark. I think my older half, that artistic personality has pushed me to read this book. Like everyone else of course when it comes to aging, I would like to do it gracefully, yet keep my mind intact. So when a book like this comes along I could not possibly pass it up.

"LASTINGNESS" such a diverse title for a book, it can mean many things. Deblanco is intense on the subject while keeping it true to his title "The Art of Old Age". He brings to light the lives of many artists including sculptures, musicians, writers and painters, to numerous to list here. He concentrates on those artists that were still able to produce art toward the end of their lifetime, while also giving details of those who died to young. Deblance discusses whether their art was just as good as when they were young, was it better or did it decline. Why do some enter the world of art when they are much older, while others start young? Does it make a difference? These are some of the questions Deblanco tries to answer.

A very difficult conclusion to come too, when considering the artistic mind. The mind of the artist is so complicated. When you take apart the mind of the artist and truly look, you will find most are mentally challenged due to mental illnesses. The mental illness as is called is not always an illness for only what society chooses to label it. The clarity, fog, and ever changing moods of an artist alone can and do declare what comes out of an artist. How can you even know what causes them to do what they do throughout their lifetime.

Even with creativity relative to age being such a difficult task to write about. I enjoyed Deblanco's book, as his passion comes through in is his depictions of Shakespeare, Verdi, Monet and others. I learned about the lives of some genius artists and came across many interesting ideas Deblanco presents while reading LASTINGNESS. This book would be of interest to those like me who love to read and learn at the same time. Unless you are an enthusiast of painters, writers and other artists of the past this book is not for you.

Nicholas Debanco is the Robert Frost Distinguis
hed University Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan and Chair of the Hopwood Committee. He has published twenty-four books of fiction and non-fiction. His most recent novels are The Count of Concord and Spring and Fall; his most recent works of non-fiction are The Countess of Stanlein Restored and The Lost Suitcase. To read more about the author Nicholas Deblanco go to his website nicholasdeblanco.com/

[Kathryn Bashaar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author investigated the question of whether creativity in music, literature and art can last into old age, and under what conditions. It was interesting to read the vignettes of famous musicians, writers and artists who remained productive into their 70s, 80s and even 90s. I especially liked his anecdotes about older writers Delbanco knew personally, like Max Eastman & John Updike. But the last few chapters, where the author tried to draw some conclusions, were kind of muddy & unsatisfying. I guess I was hoping for some more definite conclusions, maybe even a few tips.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am still not sure how much I liked this book. The verdict will depend on how much I will refer back to it in the near future, if at all.
From the beginning it felt more like a dissertation than a book for the general public. Even so, I had a hard time keeping a thread going in Nicolas Delbanco's writing: he touched on a lot of artists,writers and musicians in a lot of subjects. I don't feel he proved his "conclusions" at the end.

[John McNeilly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful. A lazy, hastily put together book that fails to deliver any kind of coherent vision of what an artistic older age may look like. Vastly disappointing.

[Keith Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still, a straw I cling to -- in the hope that the best work is still ahead of me!

Here's a short thing from a long time ago.


https://annarborobserver.com/articles...

[Julie Stielstra · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little disappointing. Capsule biographies of an array of artists (poets, musicians, painters - all Western European and almost all male - he says that's just the oeuvre he knows and there's lots of it) who remained active - or chose other options - as they grew old. Some kept on growing, developing, expanding their art; others withdrew into mediocrity, and others shifted from performing to teaching or some other aspect; and one churned out one great, now-revered novel two years before he died, never to see his novel published. It was the title that attracted me: what what it that made these late works "lasting"? What was the difference between the youthful works and the later ones that made those works of late life special or better (or not)? And Delbanco doesn't quite go there.

[Kes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

It took me ages to drag myself to this book - it felt like there was no overarching theme except a rather contrived one of artists as they get old. There are three themes (or questions) that the author attempts to reach (or answer); I am persuaded that he has achieved none. Ok, we go through artists in their old age, but so what? Some artists persevere in their craft, some quit. There isn't much advice on offer.

2/5

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stumbled on this book in David Remnick's recent profile of Bob Dylan in the New Yorker. While Nicholas Delbanco is erudite, the book is ultimately disappointing. What, in the end, is the secret to creativity in old age? Adaption. Perhaps, but he did not make the case.

[Rae Simpson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Minuteman. Recommended by LWN ageism book group member Gabrielle. Focus on stories of writers, painters, etc, and their creativity or lack thereof in older years.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book tremendously. Nicholas Delbanco is a distinguished man of letters, and this book is so beautifully written. I loved the profiles on so many great painters, writers, and musicians, and the way each profile is presented in terms of aging and creativity. Mr. Delbanco selected artists who have worked at their craft to the age of 70 or older, and describes "...what kept them engaged as creative artists and of what their late style consists." (Pg. 94) He has given us wonderful sketches of writers such as Thomas Hardy, George Sand and William Butler Yeats, painters such as Georgia O'Keeffe, Francisco Goya, and Claude Monet, and musicians such as Giuseppe Verdi, Franz Liszt, and Pablo Casals (among many others in each of the three categories.)

The prose on Georgia O'Keeffe's work was absolutely gorgeous. I think this may have been my favorite part of the book, although I really loved reading about most of the artists that were featured. In sharing his thought on O'Keeffe, Mr. Delbanco tells us: "From an ambitious art student in Chicago and New York to an accomplished painter in Stieglitz's family home on Lake George to a seer invaded by white desert light, O'Keeffe has come to represent the very essence of 'lastingness.'" (Pg. 124). And "When O'Keeffe later remembered her first sight of Rancho de los Burros, with its views of ancient cliffs, she said, 'As soon as I saw it, I knew I must have it. I can't understand people who want something badly but don't grab for it. I grabbed.' And her devotion endurred. 'Living out there has just meant happiness,' she declared, at eighty-four. 'Sometimes I think I'm half mad with love for this place.' Further, 'When I think of death, I only regret that I will not be able to see this beautiful country anymore...unless the Indians are right and my spirit will walk here after I'm gone.'" (Pg. 125).

The profile of Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Leo Tolstoy) was quite fascinating as well, as Mr. Delbanco informs us that Tolstoy "...spent his last days in the stationmaster's house of a provincial village while trying to escape. He would not have put it that way; he would have called it one stage of a quest, the act of renunciation by which honest elders retreat. But what we have are photos of a fierce white-bearded peasant with the aristocratic mien he cannot quite relinquish -- the boots are too good, the blanket too soft, the worldwide attention too keen. His gaze is both piercing and rapt." (Pg. 85). While I found the profile on Tolstoy to be extremely interesting, it is one of the darker sketches presented in this book, as is the sketch on Francisco Goya, which I found to be very dark and confusing (not unlike much of Goya's work.)

Some of the other artists included in this book are Franz Joseph Haydn, Henri Matisse, Henry Moore, Alice Neel (a beautiful profile on Alice Neel), Clara Schumann, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Holderlin, Lampedusa, among others. Although the profile on each artist is fairly short, we are given wonderful detail about their creative process, and I feel as though I learned so much about each artist and the creative process as one ages.

I would recommend this book to all artists, because there is so much to learn, and I would also recommend Lastingness to all people who love the arts in general. It's a small book on a very large subject, and so much is covered in this gorgeous volume.

Thank you to Anna at Hachette for listing this as a First Reads book, and thank you to Goodreads for choosing me as a winner!!! And thank you to Nicholas Delbanco for writing a book on such an interesting topic!!!

[Lawrence · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Lastingness" is neither useful nor interesting. It is, in fact, boring. It is a book in the sense that it has 252 pages, a hard cover, and an ISBN. Essentially, it is a themeless compilation of writings published in various periodicals. Mr. Delbanco must have decided to "write" the book when he felt he had enough articles to add up to enough pages. (Note that Mr. Delbanco throws in a chapter on Shakespeare. This chapter seems like filler because there's no real discussion at all about The Bard's connection to any theme of the interaction of creativity and age.)

The book's title is misleading. It led me to expect, if not a theory, at least some serious ruminations on creativity in old age. But it does not provide this. Chapters One and Two are the most general and introductory, and, as I had thought, most likely to provide Mr. D's point of view. However, I am at a loss to articulate exactly what Chapters One and Two say. The writing there is bad, and, as the rest of the book proves, the chapters actually don't say anything.

The book is an accumulation of feuilletons with no connection other than the long life of the persons who are Mr. Delbanco's subject matter. They consist of mere descriptions --- and very short ones at that --- of the lives of famous writers, musicians, etc. They are factual (I guess) descriptions mixed with Mr. D's musings and opinions. Maybe they could go on an op-ed page.

Although Mr. D. seems very well educated, there is no yardstick against which to measure the value of anything he says. I suspect that it's all just opinion. Notes are sparse, and there is no index. Very disappointing book.

(Note: I stopped reading on page 139, though I did dip into the pages on Verdi starting on page 151.)

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teacher and prolific author Nicholas Delbanco, himself approaching old age, writes an inquiry into what causes certain artists to remain or not remain productive in their old age. Understandably, he reaches few firm conclusions, but for me, at least, the book is fascinating not only because I'm in his age group or because I'm interested in the same question, but also and perhaps primarily because of the wonderful short portraits he gives of various notable artists-painters and sculptors, musicians and composers, and authors-who reached old age and how their work changed as they did so. Their methods and attitudes, varying widely, are both instructive and interesting. We aren't all talented artists, but many of us do grow old, and may share Delbanco's curiosity as to how others dealt with that condition. There's plenty here to help even the non-artist lead a more productive and interesting elder life.

[Paul Bond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many interesting anecdotes about artists in their golden years. Describes how some artists flicker out, some keep going to the same (long-dry) well, and yet others flourish. Delbanco offers some tentative theories about the disparate impact of the aging process, but his analysis meanders and the evidence is mixed. This isn't terribly surprising: it's difficult to imagine a profession whose leading lights would be more varied. Artists as a set are defined, in large part, by their ability to resist being lumped in with any set.

That said, Delbanco offers a treasury of examples of creativity declining with age, or advancing with it. In some cases, artists even profited from the new perspectives afforded, i.e., Monet using his failing eyesight as an opportunity to further understand light and color apart from any specific objects. A rewarding read.

[Carol Harlow · Rating 2 out of 5]

My Thoughts~

I thought this book was quite interesting, especially when you consider that we all have to go through the aging process. Through out our lives as we age, our views on older people change. Interestingly enough we are a culture that seems to revere youth and beauty yet it is experience and age that brings wisdom. I found the book to be very, very thought provoking especially when considering what might have happened had say Beethoven been able to hear or that some of the other great masters had lived longer lives. Would they have given as much to the world or would their contributions have not occurred at all?

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a book on aging gracefully. Turns out, it is a book about creating art in the elderly years. That said, it is a decent musing on the nature of art during these years. Does the art produced as a young artist stay essentially the same in the older years. If not, why? Does the larger community support art by older artist or is all support directed at youth? Delbanco looks at both historical and more contemporary artists from multiple disciplines as he examines the value of art from our eldest artists.

[Blue North · Rating 2 out of 5]

LASTINGNESS by NICHOLAS BELBANCO is not a book I would pick again to read. The words in the book are difficult and boring. Since I did not enjoy the book, writing a book review for Lastingness is like hard labor in a field chucking hay. I hate to not like a book. I'm sure some one will treasure this book by Nicholas Delbanco. I am sure growing old is an Art. I'm slightly confused as how to describe the Art.

[Roberta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting ideas and proposals, it is, as the author states, a study. It feels disjointed and more like an exploration of an idea rather than a statement, a bit jello-like. I enjoyed the journey even as it became a bit tedious towards the end, and I am not sure how much will stay with me for reflection

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I find this subject fascinating I felt I was reading someone's thesis without the footnotes. I did not like the way this book was presented. However, Nicholas Delbanco does present some thought-provoking ideas which makes the book interesting. I would not recommend it.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected more from this book. I thought it would be more in depth. Maybe it was reading it in kindle but I had a hard time seeing the individuals as more than filling the point the author was looking to make. Interesting though to think about how artists develop and age.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the stories about the people studied in the book, though the author's style is a little dry and journalistic for my tastes.

[Steve]

Came upon this book in at the NPR website from a post of 21 Jan 2011: http://www.npr.org/2011/01/21/1331171...

[Laura Vehr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed it but would not recommend it for everyone. Good read for middle age artist, writer or musician interesting and thoughtful insight and inspiration.

[Kath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, here we are, geezers that ran wild in the earlier part of our life, how do we get through this next phase? How do we use our life experience in a meaningful way to create something new again?

[Marylouise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy his point-of-view and his expressive writing.

[Susan Katz · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the most boring books I have ever tried to read. The blurb in Daedalus made it sound fascinating, but OMG!!! Good book if you're having trouble sleeping. I gave it more than 50 pages before giving up!