Poets, Writers To Examine Sports and Literature During Conference October 15-17
The traditional turf war between athletics and academics will call a truce Oct. 15-17 when The University of Tulsa presents a conference on sports and literature in its new $28 million sports arena.
The conference, sponsored by Nimrod, TU's international journal of prose and poetry, will feature a lineup of authors and author-athletes including W.P. Kinsella, the author of the novel that inspired the film "Field of Dreams"; a former professional basketball player turned poet; and a woman writer who has been running competitively for nearly 50 years.
"Sports and literature both take pleasure in the moment, in the activity for its own sake, as well as any goal that might be achieved," says Fran Ringold, Nimrod's editor and a TU theatre professor. "It is these shared qualities between literature and sports that will be demonstrated and explored during this literature and creative writing conference.
Ringold, who conceived the conference while watching a basketball game in the new arena, points out that the ancient Greek games were part of a festival that featured poetry and a theatrical competition.
"The Greek word for drama is "dromenon" -- a thing done -- a thing enacted, played out in a designated time and place, according to the rules of the game," says Ringold. "That game -- drama, literature, sport or life -- depends upon skill and thrives on conflict that is a catalyst to resolution."
Conference leaders will include Kinsella, author of the novel "Shoeless Joe"; Eliot Asinof, author of "Eight Men Out" and "Man On Spikes"; and Elinor Nauen, poet and editor of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," a collection of women writers on baseball.
Others include sprinter Joli Sandoz, editor of "A Whole Other Ball Game: Women's Literature on Women's Sport" and the forthcoming collection of personal essays by women sports figures "Whatever It Takes," runner and poet Grace Butcher; and Tom Meschery, poet and former Golden State Warriors and Seattle Sonics basketball player.
Also, Eddie Frierson will present a one-man show about legendary Giants' pitcher Christy Mathewson. The conference will end with an open mike for participants and music by The Acrobats, a jazz combo composed of sports figures who are also award-winning musicians.
The conference, "Sports and Literature: Our Sporting Life!" includes the presentation of the annual Nimrod/Hardman Awards for poetry and prose on Oct. 15 and writing workshops on Oct. 16.
Judges for the poetry and prose contest were short story writer Ron Carlson and Mark Doty, prize-winning poet and memoirist. Carlson and Doty will each present a free public reading on Oct. 16.
For more information, including brief biographies of the conference leaders, or to register for the conference, contact Ringold at TU by telephone at (918) 631-3080 or at [email protected], or visit Nimrod's web site at www.utulsa.edu/nimrod.
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Contact: Rolf Olsen (918) 631-2653 Fax (918) 631-2035 [email protected] The University of Tulsa Office of University Relations 600 S. College Ave. Tulsa OK 74104-3189 www.utulsa.edu/news
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