Monday, October 18, 2010

Batter Up

I am unapologetically a sports fan and am now in the process of a quickening immersion in the MLB playoffs now that my Phillies are in the National League Championship Series. Sport is a great thing and at its most basic level (on the playground, track or on the field), I sometimes think it is one of the last uncomplicated pleasures. It is also a great and unending source of material for writers of kids’ books, game instruction, history and novels (think The Natural and Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner). It is great stuff to talk about, to argue about and to learn from; much of it is also timeless and reflective of larger societal trends.


So beginning Tuesday, November 9 from 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM, I will host the first meeting of a monthly sports book (reading not betting) group at the Community Room at the Reiche Community Center. We will cover all kinds of sports over the course of monthly meetings. In homage to the end of baseball season we will begin with Roger Kahn’s Boys of Summer a book that is by turns factual, comic, tragic and inspiring. You’ll learn something about baseball but also about a New York City that up until the late 50’s hosted both the Dodgers and Giants along with the Yankees. Baseball players lived very different lives then and were more accessible and human from the view of a fan.

If you are interested in participating please drop an email to me at podgajny@portland.lib.me.us.