The Writer in Winter by John Updike

"The Writer in Winter" is a reflection about the book-writing process by an older writer, the author of the essay. The author confesses that he is afraid that his best works are behind him, although he notes that although writing is a profession that treats the aging more gently. Still, the author feels satisfied that his books will outlast him and hopes that he still has one more masterpiece left in him. John Updike, the author and narrator, graduated from Harvard University with a degree in English. Updike became a staff writer for The New Yorker before resigning to write Rabbit, Run and The Centaur, the latter which won the National Book Award. Two of the three sequels to Rabbit, Run (Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest) won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Updike passed away in 2009, at the age of 79. In this essay, Updike describes his own experience with age. Old age is generally a time we associate with retirement, and yet the profession of writing is more gentle on older writers. But being an older writer himself, Updike cannot help but wonder if he has lost his touch. Updike wrote this essay as a reflection of his own writing career. He admits that he fears his writing now has, " lost...it's carefree bounce, its snap, its exuberant air of slight excess. The author, in his boyish innocence, is calling, like the sorcerer's apprentice, upon unseen powers-the prodigious potential of this flexible language's vast vocabulary" (Updike174). Updike is admits his own insecurity. But behind this candid confession is the pride he has of what he has accomplished. Since the target audience of AARP Magazine (American Association of Retired Persons) is people in their fifties and older, this essay was probably intended for such an age range. The essay is personal and thoughtful, serving as a well-written reflective piece. Updike first remembers the past, muses about the present, and then thinks about the future. He uses anecdotes to reminisce about the past to further serve in his reflection. The idea of winter and his descriptions of different typewriters both serve as symbols that note the passage of time, effectively helping transition the essay along.

   

The Winter Years

"In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy." -William Blake

Source: http://www.electricityforum.com/poetry/portrait-of-laurence-steven.html