Center Field Grasses is a collection of baseball
poems in three parts. Part One contains poems that are direct
responses to the thrills and disappointments of the game. Part Two
is a collection of 59 parodies. Fehler uses the form and style of 33
famous poets (including Dickinson, Poe, Frost, Keats, Whitman, Tennyson,
Longfellow, Shakespeare) to rewrite famous poems from a baseball
perspective. There are even two retellings of Thayer's "Casey at the
Bat" ("Casey and the Agent," and "Casey and the Dome"). Part Three
contains 83 "player poems," focusing on key elements in the life or career
of major leaguers.
Sample poems from Center Field Grasses:
Sample parodies from Center Field Grasses:
Reviewers' comments on Center Field Grasses:
"When a phenom like Gene Fehler, the author of the
ingenious parodies of classic poems, wanders onto the field unannounced,
you find a place for him in the lineup immediately." Bill Ott,
Booklist
"There is a pleasing diversity of style, from the
triumphant adolescent voice of Winner to the almost poignant tone
of Throwing It Back. . . (The) collection of parodies is quite
remarkable. . . (Center Field Grasses) is a wonderful effort and
the parodies themselves make this a welcome addition to humor, English
literature, and sports collections." Susan McCaffrey, VOYA
(Center Field Grasses) is a terrific collection of
more than 200 poems that deserve an audience. . . The best part of this
Oreo cookie of a book is the cream in the center, the second section, the
superb 'Parodies of the Classics' . . . In effect, Fehler has given us a
core poetry list for students." Robert Moore, The Book Report
