Post by account_disabled on Dec 27, 2023 22:27:28 GMT -6
A little story published by Bob Bly in his newsletter made me reflect (and change my mind!) about advancing age and the goals to achieve. I have always been convinced that there is an age for everything, that we cannot reach any goal at any age. There is also a physiological age, not just a chronological one. One of my beliefs concerned writing, aimed at publishing a book: I have always thought that we should start when we are young, as kids, to write and learn narrative techniques, to make ourselves known to the public, and then finally, in our 30s, publish your first novel. There is a time to write and a time to do other things. A time to wait for the end, perhaps, basking in the mistaken belief that at a certain age one is already with one foot in the grave, to cross the border with the afterlife. A somewhat depressing and macabre beginning.
So let's try to lift spirits with Bly's little story, taken in turn by Dr. Rob Gilbert (the title is mine, and also the translation): Better late than never At a college, just before the start of the academic year, students are lining up to register for freshman courses. They are all boys except one, a grey-haired, wrinkled and slightly stooped man who appears to be at least 70 years old. A boy behind him taps him on the shoulder and asks: "Excuse me, sir, but how old are you?" The man replies Special Data that he is 72 years old. «Good heavens!», exclaims the boy. «This means that in 4 years, when he graduates, he will be 76 years old!» “Boy,” the old man replies with a smile, “I'll be 76 anyway.” Literary debuts late in life There are quite a few authors who began their literary careers in the advanced years . Here are some of them (I only took into account those over fifty), in order of increasing age for their debut in the publishing world: Charles Bukowski is a well-known name: well, he published his first novel, Post Office , at 51 years old .
Richard Adams is the author of the famous children's book Watership Down, published at the age of 52 . Laura Ingalls Wilder is another famous name (who doesn't know the Little House on the Prairie series ?). Wilder published her Little House in the Big Woods at age 65 . Frank McCourt published his first novel, a memoir, at 66 : Angela 's Ashes, which also became a good film. Margaret Ford wrote her first novel, A Daughter's Choice , at age 93 , based on 633 love letters her husband Jim sent her while fighting in World War II. Sarah Yerkes published her first book, a collection of poems, Days of Blue and Flame , at age 101 . It is not only published for the first time in the advanced anta , but also in the ento , apparently. What should this short and non-exhaustive list of authors making their debut, well beyond the middle of their life's journey, tell us? That perhaps it is useless to wallow.
So let's try to lift spirits with Bly's little story, taken in turn by Dr. Rob Gilbert (the title is mine, and also the translation): Better late than never At a college, just before the start of the academic year, students are lining up to register for freshman courses. They are all boys except one, a grey-haired, wrinkled and slightly stooped man who appears to be at least 70 years old. A boy behind him taps him on the shoulder and asks: "Excuse me, sir, but how old are you?" The man replies Special Data that he is 72 years old. «Good heavens!», exclaims the boy. «This means that in 4 years, when he graduates, he will be 76 years old!» “Boy,” the old man replies with a smile, “I'll be 76 anyway.” Literary debuts late in life There are quite a few authors who began their literary careers in the advanced years . Here are some of them (I only took into account those over fifty), in order of increasing age for their debut in the publishing world: Charles Bukowski is a well-known name: well, he published his first novel, Post Office , at 51 years old .
Richard Adams is the author of the famous children's book Watership Down, published at the age of 52 . Laura Ingalls Wilder is another famous name (who doesn't know the Little House on the Prairie series ?). Wilder published her Little House in the Big Woods at age 65 . Frank McCourt published his first novel, a memoir, at 66 : Angela 's Ashes, which also became a good film. Margaret Ford wrote her first novel, A Daughter's Choice , at age 93 , based on 633 love letters her husband Jim sent her while fighting in World War II. Sarah Yerkes published her first book, a collection of poems, Days of Blue and Flame , at age 101 . It is not only published for the first time in the advanced anta , but also in the ento , apparently. What should this short and non-exhaustive list of authors making their debut, well beyond the middle of their life's journey, tell us? That perhaps it is useless to wallow.