TUESDAY TALK: Wisdom from great writers on every year of life

Happy Tuesday, C615! Here’s a little wisdom from literary icons on this fine day.

In his autobiography Burning the Days, James Salter wrote, “Life passes into pages if it passes into anything.”When journalist and avid reader Joshua Prager came across this line, a lightbulb went off. At the time, Prager was 37, mending an injury and becoming more conscious of his aging body. While dealing with the circumstances of death in his own family, Prager was made painfully aware that old age can not be assumed. He decided, “If life passes into pages, there were somewhere, passages written about every age- if I could find them, I could assemble them into a narrative. I could assemble them into a life.” And so, he did. He comprised a list with passages on each age, from infancy to 100. He says, “To chronicle a life year by vulnerable year, would be to clasp and to ground what was fleeting. It would be to provide myself and others a glimpse into the future, whether we made it there or not.”

This poignant talk unites us all in reflection of the seasons of our lives, through beautiful, thoughtful passages written by Norman Mailer, Joyce Carol Oates and other literary icons.

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