by Donald Hall (Author)

Donald Hall's remarkable life in poetry -- a career capped by his appointment as U.S. poet laureate in 2006 -- comes alive in this richly detailed, self-revealing memoir.

Hall's invaluable record of the making of a poet begins with his childhood in Depression-era suburban Connecticut, where he first realized poetry was "secret, dangerous, wicked, and delicious," and ends with what he calls "the planet of antiquity," a time of life dramatically punctuated by his appointment as poet laureate of the United States.

At eighty, Hall is as painstakingly honest about his failures and low points as a poet, writer, lover, and father as he is about his successes, making Unpacking the Boxes -- his first book since being named poet laureate -- both revelatory and tremendously poignant.

This is the unforgettable story of the making of a poet--and the world that made him.

• A New England Childhood: The story of a boy caught between two worlds--the suburban propriety of Depression-era Connecticut and the rustic, treasured freedom of his grandparents' New Hampshire farm.
• Harvard and Oxford: A vivid recounting of a young poet's self-liberation, from the challenging halls of Exeter to the vibrant literary scenes of postwar Cambridge and England.
• A Generation of Poets: An insider's account of the friendships that defined an era, rubbing elbows with luminaries like Robert Bly, Adrienne Rich, and Frank O'Hara.
• An Unflinching Memoir: With painstaking candor, Hall confronts his failures and low points as a writer, husband, and father, offering a rare, self-revealing portrait of a life dedicated to art.

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