Category Archives: Poem of the Week

Poem Of The Week: Missoula Softball Tournament

Posted on July 7, 2009 by Eric

This week’s poem is an ode to baseball at its most local and summer at its most hopeful by Richard Hugo, a great Seattle poet (and like Tim Lincecum and myself, a great UW Husky). Dig Missoula Softball Tournament, and … Continue reading →

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Poem Of The Week: Baseball

Posted on June 30, 2009 by Eric

This week a poem by a guy you may have actually heard of. “Baseball” is from John Updike’s final poetry collection — Endpoint.. The poem lopes along nicely, like a midweek summer day game somewhere in the middle of America. … Continue reading →

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Poem Of The Week: Along Came Ruth

Posted on June 23, 2009 by Eric

I’ve been wanting to get into more of the early 20th century genre of baseball poetry as written by sports writers. None of the vague stuff, no complicated metaphors or symbolism. Nope. This is fun, this is baseball poem as … Continue reading →

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Poem Of The Week: The Buddhists Have the Ball Field

Posted on June 16, 2009 by Eric

Here’s a poem from James Tate. The Buddhists have the ball field. Then the teams arrive, nine on one, but only three on the other. The teams confront the Buddhists. The Buddhists present their permit. There is little point in … Continue reading →

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Poem Of The Week: Knuckleball

Posted on June 9, 2009 by Eric

This week’s poem is by Glenn Stout. Stout has been the editor of the Best American Sports Writing series since its inception, but he describes himself as “an old poet who found himself writing sports by accident.” Stout is also … Continue reading →

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Poem Of The Week: The Ballad Of Old Rocky Nelson

Posted on June 2, 2009 by Eric

A (somewhat sarcastic, I think)  poem by Canadian Raymond Souster about light-hitting outfielder Rocky Nelson: When old Rocky Nelson shuffles up to the plate The outfield shifts round and the fans all wait. He takes up his stance which ignores every law, … Continue reading →

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Poem Of The Week: Polo Grounds

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Eric

If you’ve heard of Rolfe Humphries, it’s because of his work as a translator. Many people consider his translatio nthe definitive English version of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. But this poem is about another kind of mythology – that of baseball and … Continue reading →

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Poem of the Week: “Listening to Baseball in the Car for James Tate”

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Eric

This semi-divine poem by Gail Mazure celebrates the Red Sox and hope and honors fellow poet James Tate. It encapsulates the fallibility of baseball and the futility of a fan watching or listening but not playing. When you’re done, check … Continue reading →

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Poem Of The Week: Baseball’s Sad Lexicon

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Eric

This is perhaps the second most famous baseball poem of all time. If not, it contains one of the most famous lines: Tinker to Evers to Chance. Enjoy Franklin Pierce Adams’ work here, and try to remember that there was … Continue reading →

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Poem Of The Week: The Abominable Baseball Bat

Posted on May 5, 2009 by Eric

This poem, by super-poet/children’s writer/scholar/translator/holder of cool initials  XJ Kennedy is not, in fact, about Brian Giles and his .443 OPS. But it is about vampires, so Brian Giles does have something to do with it. I swung and swung … Continue reading →

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