{"product_id":"still-life-at-eighty-a-memoir-9781942134985","title":"Still Life at Eighty: A Memoir","description":"ABOUT THE BOOK Novelist, critic, essayist, screenwriter, teacher, traveler, and art aficionado, Nicholas Delbanco has here compiled a mosaic of his life as he glances backwards and forwards from the vantage point of his eightieth year. Each home relocation with its inevitable remodeling becomes a metaphor for the reconstruction of the self over his lifetime. In episodic riffs, \u003ci\u003eStill Life at Eighty\u003c\/i\u003e revisits seven houses where Delbanco welcomed a panoply of literati, such as Mary Ruefle, Mary Lee Settle, Mary Robison, John Ashbery, John Cheever, John Irving, and John Updike. Each abode becomes a receptacle of memory, as he recalls his friendships with the likes of James Baldwin, Grace Paley, Frederick Busch, Donald Barthelme, and Russell Banks.  \u003ci\u003eStill Life at\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eEighty \u003c\/i\u003eis saturated with artistic appreciation, which colors Delbanco's life from early childhood to his eightieth year. The grandson of collectors (whose paintings were plundered by the Nazis), nephew of a London gallerist, son of an accomplished painter, and a collector himself, Delbanco summons his reminiscences of art, artifacts, and artists as he pivots from a youthful artistic apprenticeship to become a prolific professional writer, sustained, and inspired by his wife of fifty-three years, Elena; his daughters, Francesca and Andrea; and five granddaughters. Delbanco finds solace in the things of this world: a Biedermeier desk, an Ekoi mask, and an instrument case that held the fabled Countess of Stanlein ex-Paganini Stradivarius Violoncello of 1707--all reminders of a treasured past. Together with these cherished artifacts, former homes, and the myriad writers and artists who slip in and out of this erudite memoir, \u003ci\u003eStill Life at Eighty\u003c\/i\u003e makes readers privy not only to Delbanco's rich experiences, but also to the vast aesthetic wealth of his long life. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Mandel Vilar Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/03\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781942134985\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 208\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.75lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.90d","brand":"Nicholas Delbanco","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44576645251253,"sku":"9781942134985","price":18.66,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_5102f816-e759-4458-8d0e-042760351d53.jpg?v=1724176172","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/still-life-at-eighty-a-memoir-9781942134985","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}