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Editorial Review Product Description
In the decade ahead, more than 80 million Americans will reach the age of retirement and face what Robin Chapman and Judith Strasser call “the unnerving question, What next?” Indeed, according to the Social Security Administration, the number of Americans sixty-five or older will nearly double between 2000 and 2030. As more people approach retirement, they too will wonder what lies ahead.
This superb collection includes poems by men and women ranging in age from their fifties to their eighties and hailing from different cities, regions, and countries. The entire range of emotions and literary perspectives is represented here, whether the specter of death in Doug Anderson’s “Sixty One” or a sly grin in Roger Pfingston’s “Retired.”
Each poet—whether retired or just contemplating retirement—greets the prospect of this new chapter of life differently. George Bilgere purchases the complete works of Verdi and extravagant silk shirts, while Denise Levertov contemplates life alone. Alicia Ostriker implores readers to “keep on fighting, keep up the good work,” and Alberto Ríos recalls a lost love. However we contemplate retirement, this volume will illuminate the careful thoughts of those who have faced these questions before us.
Contributors Include:
Werner Aspenstrom, Chana Bloch, Philip Booth, Hayden Carruth, Lucille Clifton, Ruth Daigon, Susan Elbe, Sam Hamill, Mark Irwin, klipschutz, Ted Kooser, Maxine Kumin, Richard Moore, Naomi Shihab Nye, Grace Paley, Robert Pinsky, Carol Potter, Ishmael Reed, Claudette Mork Sigg, Ronald Wallace
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As in re-beginning
I was skeptical when I read the title."Retirement" sounds attractive but more like a porch swing than a poem.Relax.Well, there's a lot more to think about it, like these lines from the one by Kelly Cherry: "those who thought they could do better / than the old man / and were surprised / when they returned from far off / to discover that their hearts had burned down / and they had to rebuild." Take Me With You When You Go
75 Poems on Retirement is an anthology of poems by a diversity of male and female writers
75 Poems on Retirement is an anthology of poems by a diversity of male and female writers, all ranging in age from their fifties to their eighties. Some are retired; some are contemplating retirement; all offer their unique, sometimes disconcerting, sometimes witty, sometimes thoughtful insights into this turning point of one's life. Most of the poems are free-verse and brief in length, though all have the resonating power of reflection borne from personal experience. "Open House": I work as hard as I can / to have nothing to do. // Birds climb their rich ladder / of choruses. // They have tasted the top of the tree, / but they are not staying. // The whole sky says, / Your move.
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