Complete Lineups: poems

by Charles North

Poetry. Charles North's ingenious poems in the form of baseball lineups have been exhilarating readers since they first appeared in 1972 and sportswriter Larry Merchant devoted two New York Post columns to them. The Village Voice and The Philadelphia Inquirer have both called the lineups "brilliant," and among poets themselves they are legendary. Ranging from hilarious to sober and moving, always witty, these poems metaphorically organize all sorts of human experience-seasons, cities, vegetables, diseases, Wordsworth poems-by batting order and field position. COMPLETE LINEUPS reprints the original series with drawings by Paula North, as well as "Lineups II" and recent experiments with the form. Also included are three new, unpublished lineups, new drawings, reproductions of artwork based on the poems, author's commentary, and an introduction by poet and critic William Corbett.

Genres: Poetry

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 5, 2009

Reviews

[Carl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming. More than a mere parlor game, if only because there's some mystery or room for debate. A few of the lineups (Rooms, Parts of the Body) quiver with the potential to transcend their schtick, but ultimately don't because they never lose the poet's presence --not as the skipper, but as creator.