Robert Hershon Presents Poems by Charles North

These poems by Charles North – they’re short, have two – appear in his Complete Lineups (Hanging Loose Press, 2009).

CITIES

San Francisco   ss
Munich   cf
Paris   lf
Rome c
Madrid   3b
London   rf
Athens   1b
Istanbul   2b
New York   p

MOVIES

A Day at the Races   rf
The Maltese Falcon   lf
Rules of the Game   3b
Children of Paradise   cf
On the Waterfront   1b
The Lady Vanishes   ss
The Baker’s Wife   2b
Odd Man Out   c
Masculine Feminine   p

As the season (don’t ask what season: the season) is about to open, at last, as Johan Santana gets ready to win 25 games, as Jose Reyes prepares to play all 162 games (plus the post-season), as David Wright gets set for 35 homers, as Jenrry Mejia and Ike Davis step into our dreams of rookie glory – ah, let it all roll out! – as the whole team lines up for kisses on the forehead, what better time to turn our attention to Charles North’s Complete Lineups?  Answer: No better time, right now, before Oliver Perez goes on the DL again.

The lineup poems were introduced in Charles’ first book, in 1972, and new ones have appeared in magazines and books over the years.  Last year, we brought them all together in one beautiful little book, with art by Paula North, a key member of the coaching staff from the beginning.  The book has received some very nice reviews in poetry publications – and on MLB.com.

“I don’t know what the non-fan will make of Complete Lineups,” wrote William Corbett, in his introduction to the book, “but for those love baseball North’s book is bliss.  The first lineup, “Cities,” has Rome catching and batting cleanup. Yes! Catcher is the position to which all roads lead. San Francisco, the Baghdad by the Bay, leads off, surely a thief on the bases, and plays shortstop. Istanbul, batting eighth and playing second, is just right for the “exotic” position played by Hall of Famers as worlds apart as light hitting Nellie Fox and the power-hitters Joe Morgan and Ryne Sandberg.”  Bill brings the same insights as he moves along to Vegetables, British Poets, Diseases, Philosophers, Wildflowers, Herbs & Spices, and the other lineups. (To my knowledge, Charles has not addressed the subject of competition between these teams, so we don’t have any tabloid headlines like Diseases Kill Composers or Colors Fade in Extra Innings.)

Wait – what’s that?  Daniel Murphy out for maybe six weeks?  It’s starting, already?  We may need an immediate lineup of Anxieties.

Note: For an excellent discussion of Charles North’s work, see the piece by Michael Schiavo that appeared on this blog in February.

-- Robert Hershon

Comments

[Karen Tumulty]

2B Bruins
1B Red Sox
C Patriots
OF Celtics
3B Crimson
0F Brandeis
OF Tufts
SS MIT
LHP Achilles Heel
RHP Brandies

[early wynn]

ss Memphis
2b Minneapolis-St Paul
cf Cincinnati
3b St Louis
1b Chicago
rf Milwaukee
lf New York
c Boston
p Cleveland

[Casey Donovan]

ss Cubs
1b "Redlegs"
lf Brooklyn
cf New York
lf Milwaukee
2b Cards
3b Pirates
c Phillies
p Brooklyn

pre-expansion

[Late Loss]

Redlegs?
Reds!
Joe McCarthy?
Manager NY Yankees.
Courageously, Anderson Copper denounces slavery.
Virginia there is slavery (minus 150 years).
OK, nothing absolutely Fort Sumter pot Union Virgina secession Abraham Lincoln thank you for the lecture.
Let him talk fuckhead.
ss Chisox, 2b Shaddup, 3b Eddie Mathews, lf Virginia Mayo, cf Mayo Smith, rf Smith Barney, c Barney Ross, 1b Jefferson Davis, P. Robert Montgomery Cobb E. Lee J. Pruitt Clit.
Before the accident.
Not as radical as MB or JD but just as pretty boy and more plausible