In A Carnival of Losses: Notes Nearing Ninety, a collection of essays by Donald Hall published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2018, shortly after his death, the poet provides a compelling discourse on a strikingly diverse range of topics. All were written in his eighties, with the subject matter spanning his more-than-six-decade career as a poet, essayist and literary critic. Woven throughout his commentary are reflections on writing as a craft, the importance of family to his legacy and the loss of his wife – fellow poet, Jane Kenyon – to leukemia at the age of 47. This is a powerful collection and a worthwhile read, not only for lovers of poetry or the medical humanities, but also for anyone who has experienced the loss of someone who is closest to them.