Hero of the Play: 10th Anniversary Edition

by Richard Harrison, Roy MacGregor

Ten years ago, Richard Harrison thrilled poetry and hockey lovers with a collection of poetry devoted to the great Canadian game. This beloved collection has been re-issued with a new selection of poems, "The Hero in Overtime," an essay by the author on ten years of living with hockey poetry, and a foreword by Roy MacGregor. "I was mesmerized by Harrison's writing ? his observation that Mark Messier's stare 'weighs 200 pounds'; his descriptions of Don Cherry; his astonishing, yet accurate, comparison of hockey to Sumo wrestling ? and I am delighted that, 10 years on, he is back with a new issue of Hero of the Play with all kinds of new writing to fascinate and intrigue and, most importantly, inspire those of us who profoundly believe it is impossible to know this country without knowing its game." ? Excerpt from Foreword

Genres: Poetry, Canada

96 pages, Paperback

First published February 20, 2004

Reviews

[Nicole]

Harrison captures the spirit of the game across the world in words that are simplistic yet loaded. I read this book because I was required to for class; I fell in love with it because of my love for the game.

[catto doggoland]

mind numbing uninspiring poetry of hockey culture from a fucking moron who probably hasn't even spectated the game. Written by a no named hack of a failed professor from a diploma mill of a school.

[claire]

not a super stellar poetry collection, but there are moments of real beauty in some of it. i personally really liked “stanley cup” and (shocker) “male bonding”.

[Angela]

Interesting that this book "kept writing itself" after publication, so the 10th anniversary edition I read had a section of new hockey poems.