Album Notes

It has been said that poetry captures and expresses the true essence of a people, and if this is so, it must be asked whether American poets have responded to the national pastime. The answer is a resounding YES, for poetry is a thing of images, and the images baseball creates are unmatched in the sporting realm. The roster of poets who have gone to bat for the national pastime includes the likes of Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, Marianne Moore, William Carlos Williams, Robert Creeley, Kenneth Patchen, Donald Hall, Tom Clark, and Quincy Troupe, among others.

This anthology continues the long and distinguished relationship between poetry and baseball. Michael C. Ford has scoured the sandlots of Southern California to compile a stellar lineup of heavy-hitting and rubber-armed literary figures, eager to take their swings and toss some metaphors for the newest team on the sporting scene, the Los Angeles Bards. The anthology chronicles the Bards_ inaugural game, played on August 25, 2002 at the Donald R. Wright Auditorium of the Pasadena Central Library, Pasadena, California. Sponsored by the Baseball Reliquary, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through the context of baseball history, the reading was supported in part by a grant from the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and by Poets & Writers, Inc. through a grant it received from the James Irvine Foundation.

Armed with his official lineup card and being careful not to bat anyone out of order, player-manager Michael C Ford, the Lou Boudreau of the Los Angeles poetry scene, introduces each of the wordsmiths as they step to the plate. Their poems cover a panoramic view of the baseball landscape, from pickup softball and semi-pro to the major leagues, exploring the game_s inner magic and meaning and recalling it_s cult heroes and icons such as Joe DiMaggio, Steve Bilko, Kirk Gibson, Joe Pepitone, Andy Pafko and Chico Carrasquel; even heard appearing as role players inside the poets' interior diamonds, Marcus Aurelius, Gertrude Stein and God. And now, the sun is shining, the umpires have made their way on to the field. So, without further delay. ... PLAY BALL ! Terry Cannon Executive Director The Baseball Reliquarry