The Trouble Ball: Poems - Softcover

Espada, Martín

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393343561 ISBN 13: 9780393343564

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012

Synopsis

“[An] important work . . . inspiring its readers to greater human connection and to keep fighting the good fight.”―The Rumpus

In this new collection of poems, Martín Espada crosses the borderlands of epiphany and blasphemy: from a pilgrimage to the tomb of Frederick Douglass to an encounter with the swimming pool at a center of torture and execution in Chile, from the adolescent discovery of poet Omar Khayyám to the death of an "illegal" Mexican immigrant.

from "The Trouble Ball"
      On my father's island, there were hurricanes and tuberculosis, dissidents in jail
      and baseball. The loudspeakers boomed: Satchel Paige pitching for the Brujos
      of Guayama. From the Negro Leagues he brought the gifts of Baltasar the King;
      from a bench on the plaza he told the secrets of a thousand pitches: The Trouble Ball,
      The Triple Curve, The Bat Dodger, The Midnight Creeper, The Slow Gin Fizz,
      The Thoughtful Stuff. Pancho Coímbre hit rainmakers for the Leones of Ponce;
      Satchel sat the outfielders in the grass to play poker, windmilled three pitches
      to the plate, and Pancho spun around three times. He couldn't hit The Trouble Ball.

About this title

About the Author

Martín Espada has published more than twenty books as a poet, editor, essayist and translator, including Vivas to Those Who Have Failed and Pulitzer finalist The Republic of Poetry. His many honors include the Ruth Lilly Prize, the Shelley Memorial Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Born in Brooklyn, he now lives in western Massachusetts.

Edition details

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0393343561
• ISBN 13: 9780393343564
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 68