Emily Nemens

Set in 2011 in Scottsdale, Arizona, the fictional Los Angeles Lions baseball team is about to embark on Spring Training at the (real) Cactus League baseball park, Salt River Fields. The book is a series of interrelated short stories about an owner, a manager, coaches, players, rookies, wives, agents, hangers on, wannabe girlfriends, and even the stadium’s organist. The primary focus is All-Star center fielder Jason Goodyear, a multimillionaire player who is now facing a divorce and gambling debts.

I recently went on a trip to the Phoenix area to attend Spring Training games, so it seemed like a good time to read this book. I cannot say it is particularly realistic since it assumes the players are in the lineup the entire game, playing as they do in the regular season, which does not generally happen, but it is an entertaining story. The author throws in local color, using real restaurants, museums, casinos, and Indian tribal history.
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I quite enjoyed both the interviews in this issue. Parks I've read a lot of back for a theater degree, so that was a nice reminder of her work and its influence in my life. I haven't read much Hirsch, but the interview made me want to read A Poet's Glossary. "Writing is a bit like psychoanalysis. You're supposed to go where it's psychically troubling. It takes a certain kind of recklessness to face oneself. The more upsetting it is, the more you're supposed to fly toward it, like a moth to the flame."

I enjoyed Elly Bookman's Nocturne poem and Jack Livings' short story. River Crossing stuck with me.… (más)