As I read through Moore's poetry and essays, I found it interesting that she was a huge baseball fan. I think often sports and poetry are represented as opposite sides of the spectrum. Yet, it seems that both contain a great deal of art and a specific, almost coded, language. So, since I spend about most of my life watching football in the Fall, and now, I am spending the other half practicing poetry, I wanted to improv off of this poem.
Baseball and Writing - Marianne Moore
Post Game Broadcast
Assign Yogi Berra to Cape Canaverdi
he could handle one missile
He is not feather. "Strike!...Strike 2!
Fouled back. A blur,
it's gone. You could infer
that the bat had eyes.
He put the wood to that one.
Praised, Skowron says, "Thanks, Mel.
I think I helped a little bit."
All business, each, and modesty.
Blanchard, Richardson, Kubek, Boyer.
In that galazy of nine, say which
won the pennant? Each. It was he.
Give Bear Bryant the mic
he can inspire any bonehead-that hits.
He is no dog fight-just the dog. "Blitz!...Sack!"
Dead ball. A bomb,
it's fumbled. She could interfere-
the skin at midfield.
He picked off that kid.
Encroached, Payton said, "Fourth Comeback-
I'm the best Manning."
All business, turf, and green.
Walker, Green, Kinnick, Ruettiger.
In the clash of many, stands
all one ring. Them? It was all me.
Check out Fairchild's wonderful baseball poem "Body and Soul," if you don't already know it. There are, in fact, entire anthologies devoted to poetry about baseball and, more generally, about sport. John Poch has a sestina about Tiger Woods, for example. In fact, this tradition goes all the way back to the ancient Greeks. Pindar wrote fantastic odes to famous athletes, and we now talk of "Pindaric Odes." You may want to think about this undiscovered fusion--sports and poetry--for further postings, even your critical preface. That is, why do we carry these preconceived notions about what precisely poetry can be about?
ReplyDeleteFor football, check out James Wrights's lovely "Autumn Begins in Martin's Ferry, Ohio." I believe it's in your anthology.