Unpacking the Boxes : a Memoir of a Life In Poetry

Joyce Sparrow - Library Journal: Readers will cheer for poet Hall (The Museum of Clear Ideas) when finishing this slim but powerful memoir. Hall's story begins as he unpacks boxes after relocating from Michigan to New Hampshire. Out come his early works, photographs, and memories, which he shares with readers. The arc moves from his eagerness as a student to the grief of an older man. As a student at Harvard and Oxford, Hall shows determination to study, write, and publish. As an older man, he struggles through the death of his beloved wife, poet Jane Kenyon (From Room to Room), and multiple health problems. His reward is a fax from the Library of Congress offering him recognition as the U.S. poet laureate from 2006 to 2007. Hall's resolve to dedicate his life to writing will be appreciated by those who love literature and those who aspire to be writers. This is a beautiful, compelling memoir; recommended for all academic and large public literature collections.