海角大神

Author Alice Munro recently created a stir when she announced her retirement from writing, following an example set by novelist Phillip Roth, who declared last autumn that he had also written his last book.

Munro is 82, and Roth is 80, each well past the standard retirement age. Even so, the idea of writers trading their keyboards for gold watches still seems unusual. One of the small benefits of writing, after all, is that one can presumably continue doing it at any age, and many authors keep plugging along, despite the march of years.

John Updike, who was still publishing work until shortly before his death in 2009 at age 76, made the case for keeping at it in one of his last essays, 鈥淭he Writer in Winter.鈥�

鈥淎n aging writer has the not insignificant satisfaction of a shelf of books behind him that, as they wait for their ideal readers to discover them, will outlast him for a while,鈥� Updike told readers. 鈥淭he pleasures for him, of bookmaking 鈥� the first flush of inspiration, the patient months of research and plotting, the laser-printed final draft, the back-and-forthing with Big Apple publishers, the sample pages, the jacket sketches, the proofs, and at last the boxes from the printers, with their sweet heft and smell of binding glue 鈥� remain, and retain creation鈥檚 giddy bliss.鈥澛�

But as Munro pointed out in her interview with The New York Times, there鈥檚 also a lot to be said for putting down the pen and enjoying life. 鈥淭here is a nice feeling about being just like everyone else now,鈥� she said.

A few days after Munro鈥檚 big splash in The Times, though, author Oliver Sacks published a Times essay about the joys of turning 80. He said he wants to keep working indefinitely. 鈥淲hen my time comes, I hope I can die in harness,鈥� Sacks wrote.

The question of retirement for a writer boils down to personal choice, of course, but all the recent attention on the topic is a potent reminder of the wordsmiths who are still churning out poetry and prose, even in the full bloom of maturity.

Here, as a suggested theme for summer reading, are some recommended titles from five senior writers who are still on the job:

1)聽聽聽聽Oliver Sacks. 聽Even at four-score years, Sacks routinely makes the bestseller list with his intriguing tales from the world of neurological science, including 鈥淗allucinations,鈥� just out in paperback. (Vintage, $15.95) Sacks proves as good as ever in this nonfiction account of what the eye sees 鈥� or thinks it sees 鈥� and the author鈥檚 reflections on his odd experiences with psychedelic drugs make this perhaps his most personal narrative yet.

2)聽聽聽聽William Zinsser. The celebrated author of 鈥淥n Writing Well,鈥� a classic guide to the craft, continues to work as a writing coach at 90, even though the recent loss of his sight forced him to give up his online column for The American Scholar. The essays from that column were recently collected in 鈥淭he Writer Who Stayed鈥� (Paul Dry Books, 14.95). Also available from Paul Dry鈥檚 backlist are two classic Zinsser reprints: 鈥淎merican Places,鈥� his travelogue of national landmarks, and 鈥淢itchell & Ruff,鈥� his account of a pivotal visit to China by American jazz musicians in 1981.

3)聽聽聽聽Edward Hoagland. 聽Hailed by John Updike as 鈥渢he best essayist of my generation,鈥� Hoagland is still knitting sentences together at 80, as evidenced by his recent essay collection, 鈥淪ex and the River Styx鈥� (Chelsea Green, $17.95). Hoagland鈥檚 essays display the emotional complexity of a novel, and they have deepened in emotional resonance as Hoagland has matured. 鈥淪ummer won鈥檛 be endless now; nor episodes of drama and romance,鈥� he writes of aging 聽in 鈥淎 Last Look,鈥� a landmark essay in the book. 聽In spite of that, Hoagland still finds the winter of his life full of adventure 鈥� and insightful observation. 鈥淎laskan Travels鈥� (Arcade Publishing, $22.95), Hoagland鈥檚 reminiscence of his travels in the Great White North, is a great companion title.

4)聽聽聽聽Mary Oliver. Cited by The New York Times as 鈥淎merica鈥檚 bestselling poet,鈥� the 77-year-old Oliver crafts poems in the tradition of Robert Frost, offering introspective musings inspired by the New England landscape. 鈥淎 Thousand Mornings鈥� (Penguin, $24.95) shows Oliver at the top of her form, especially in 鈥淭oday,鈥� which expresses her views on the serenity of aging: 鈥淭oday I鈥檓 flying low and I鈥檓 / not saying a word. 聽/ I鈥檓 letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep.鈥� Penguin plans to publish a collection of Oliver鈥檚 canine poems, 鈥淒og Songs,鈥� in October.

5)聽聽聽聽W.D. Wetherell. Novelist and essayist W.D Wetherell turns 65 this year, but retirement doesn鈥檛 seem likely for one of America鈥檚 most consistently engaging writers. In 鈥淵ellowstone Autumn鈥� (University of Nebraska Press, $24.95), Wetherell recalled coming to terms with aging while spending his 55^th聽birthday in Yellowstone National Park. 鈥淭he Writing on the Wall鈥� (Arcade, $24.95) his 2012 novel, is an engrossing tale of a woman who seeks solace in an old vacation house, only to discover that she鈥檚 not really alone. But my favorite Wetherell book is 鈥淥n Admiration鈥� (Skyhorse, 聽$12.95), an autobiography improvised from the author鈥檚 survey of people he鈥檚 admired over the years. 鈥淣o book like this has ever been attempted before,鈥� he says in introducing his concept. The desire to find something new, even after decades of experience, is what keeps many seasoned authors 聽writing 鈥� and seasoned readers 聽following along. 聽