United States, 9th May 2026, Grand Newswire -
What’s It Like To Be Old? by John Maynard has received the BREW Seal of Excellence and the BREW Reader’s Choice Award from The Chrysalis BREW Project.
The poetry collection examines aging, memory, mortality, companionship, and daily life through fifty-nine poems arranged across six sections. The book reflects on the experiences of older adults through observations, recollections, conversations, and reflections drawn from ordinary settings and routines.
In a published book review, the collection was described as “a beautiful collection of poems that unflinchingly portrays the myriad experiences of growing old.” The same review stated that Maynard “succeeds in giving voice to the varied experiences of old age” and noted that the poems “do not focus only on the pains” but also “shed light on the triumphs of aging.”
The review also highlighted poems including Keeping Up, Keeping Up, Keeping Up, Still To Live, Losing Battle, and Old People and Ice Cream, noting the collection’s use of humor, memory, and reflection in its treatment of aging.
Published by Finishing Line Press, What’s It Like To Be Old? continues Maynard’s poetry work following Armando and Maisie (2025), a collection centered on the relationship between a dog and a homeless resident of Central Park.
About the Author
John Maynard is Professor of English Emeritus at NYU. He has published nonfiction books and articles in literary studies and criticism and co-edited a Cambridge journal for twenty-six years. His work has received the Thomas J. Wilson Prize from Harvard University Press, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an NEH Grant, and the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award.
About the Book
What’s It Like To Be Old? is a poetry collection by John Maynard published by Finishing Line Press. The book contains fifty-nine poems divided into six sections focused on aging, memory, health, companionship, mortality, and daily life. The book is available via major retailers including Amazon.
