Natasha Trethewey

Memory.' 'Race.' 'Murder.' That's what they say about me. I am an elegiac poet. I have some historical questions, and I'm grappling with ways to make sense of history; why it still haunts us in our most intimate relationships with each other, but also in our political decisions.

American Poet

Charlie Pierce

As he enters his final term, with the elegiac music playing out there in the distance, Barack Obama will use the history that he has come to embody and, perhaps, even to fulfill, as part of a larger project that never will be completed but only finished, over and over again.

American Journalist

Joyce Carol Oates

Most people think that a widow is inhabiting some elegiac world of - it's like Mozart's 'Requiem Mass.' You know, it's very beautiful and elevated thoughts and some measure of dignity. I didn't have that experience at all. I had one pratfall after another.

American Novelist

Richard Russo

My books are elegiac in the sense that they're odes to a nation that even I sometimes think may not exist anymore except in my memory and my imagination.

Jim Crace

Because I'm a walker, natural history is my subject; I've always been obsessed with landscape, and I have an elegiac tone in most of my books.

English Writer

Elegiac often describes work lamenting someone's death, capturing grief and respect.

Lamenting Loss

Originating from ancient Greek and Latin poetry, 'elegiac' carries a classic, timeless feel.

Historical Roots

Works labeled 'elegiac' often reflect on the sorrow of loss, not just the fact of it.

Reflecting Sorrow

'Elegiac' can convey a bittersweet longing for the past, often with a tone of sorrow.

Nostalgic Reflection

In an elegiac mood, people quietly contemplate life's changes and losses.

Quiet Introspection

'Elegiac' can describe cultural works that evoke a collective nostalgia or mourning.