The Trouble Ball: Poems

“[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.
1100872275
The Trouble Ball: Poems

“[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.
11.99 In Stock
The Trouble Ball: Poems

The Trouble Ball: Poems

by Martín Espada
The Trouble Ball: Poems

The Trouble Ball: Poems

by Martín Espada

eBook

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Overview

“[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.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780393344547
Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date: 09/17/2012
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 80
File size: 218 KB

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.
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