 | |
| Author | Jay Hopler |
|---|---|
| Publisher | McSweeney's |
Publication date | June 7, 2022 |
| Pages | 63 |
| ISBN | 978-1952119378 |
| Preceded by | The Abridged History of Rainfall |
Still Life is a 2022 poetry collection by Jay Hopler.[1] It was a finalist for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and was longlisted for the 2022 National Book Award for Poetry.[2][3]
Background
[edit]In 2017, Hopler was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer; he was told that he had only two years to live, after which he challenged himself "to write a book in twenty-four months."[4] From then on, as he lived with his condition, he began writing the poems that would be collected in Still Life; his wife, Kimberly Johnson, would also write her own poetry collection, Fatal, about the diagnosis, which would also be released in 2022.[5]
In three sections, the poems in Still Life address Hopler's diagnosis, his Puerto Rican heritage, and other topics including a "duet" with Johnny Cash and various allusions to animals. The book ends with a self-obituary. Hopler passed in 2022 one week after the book's publication. In The Rumpus that November, Johnson wrote:
"Even before, but pronouncedly after, Jay's diagnosis, he and I spoke often about what it means to write a last book, to produce a poetic artifact that endures beyond the self. What poetry can offer in the way of immortality. And what it can't."[5]
Critical reception
[edit]Time included the book in their list of 100 must-reads for 2022, stating that "In the wake of a terminal cancer diagnosis, poet Jay Hopler pondered his own mortality with wit, searing insight, and a clear-eyed sense of courage".[6]
Critics admired Hopler's reflections on mortality laden with humor.[7][8] River Mouth Review observed the book's duality: "Still Life is a disconcerting book in the same way memorial services can be disconcerting: mourners go from making crass, perhaps even cruel jokes in each other’s ears to breaking down in tears and locking themselves in the restroom."[9] Blackbird similarly said that "Hopler’s work has always been marked by self-deprecating humor—a lamentation of a tortured existence and a resentment for having been born at all—and this characteristic pinnacles in Still Life."[10] Poetry International Online said "The book seems to be both a representation of all the moving parts of the dying, as well as an antithesis to how we usually converse about death, namely a dying person."[11] The Rumpus concluded, "What else can I feel but humility and admiration for these poems, which grieve and celebrate a life with so much care?"[12]
References
[edit]- ^ Hopler, Jay (2022). Still life: poems. McSweeney's poetry series. San Francisco: McSweeney's. ISBN 978-1-952119-37-8.
- ^ Khatib, Joumana; Alter, Alexandra; Harris, Elizabeth A. (May 8, 2023). "Pulitzer Prizes 2023: A Guide to the Winning Books and Finalists". The New York Times.
- ^ "The 2022 National Book Awards Longlist: Poetry". The New Yorker. 2022-09-15. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ "Srikanth Reddy in Conversation with Jay Hopler and Kimberly Johnson". The Poetry Foundation. 2022-03-08. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ a b Johnson, Kimberly (2022-11-29). "The Last Book". The Rumpus. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ "'Still Life' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2022". Time. 2022-11-14. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ "Still Life by Jay Hopler". Fleurs du Mal Magazine. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ "ON THE SONNETS OF JAY HOPLER'S "STILL LIFE"". The American Sonnet. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ Gil, Guillermo Robollo. "Still Life, by Jay Hopler". River Mouth Review. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ Bailes, Colin. ""Still Life" by Jay Hopler". blackbird.vcu.edu. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ Manuel, Melanie. "Layers of Disappearance". Poetry International Online. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ Detisch, Christian (2022-07-13). "An Open Letter in Lieu of a Review: on Still Life by Jay Hopler". The Rumpus. Retrieved 2024-11-15.