{"product_id":"playing-fields-paperback","title":"Playing Fields - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJoseph Chelius\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Joseph Chelius's engaging \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003ePlaying Fields, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e if you ride \"the green-and-cream trolley \/ with wide windows for eyes,\" you'll enter the poet's life. Lucky you. More importantly, you'll witness and learn from the histories that fill these pages: relationships, race riots, the pandemic. This is a book that honors wonder and discovery, that teaches compassion and resilience, and that contemplates what to hold onto and what to let go of, whether grief, cornmeal mush, a fly, embarrassment, or a blue bowling ball behind the shed. Filled with rowhouses and music, \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003ePlaying Fields\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e is a tribute to place, memory, and - of course - baseball.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e-\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eMarjorie Maddox\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, author, \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eSmall Earthly Space\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEach poem in \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003ePlaying Fields\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e summons a world that is fully present in the moment. Everyday phenomena - a bowling ball, a \"repurposed\" lawnmower, squirrels and songbirds, a plaid thermos, a damaged tree - become the poet's brothers and sisters, merit his care and concern. In \"Super 8,\" Chelius, channeling Edward Hopper, wonders of a stranger: \"lonely or merely alone, \/ who'd presume to say?\" Indeed, there is a vital kinship between a Chelius poem and a Hopper painting. Here, a child at play is not lonely because the game's world has come alive, drawn close. In this regard, each of Joe Chelius's poems is a \"playing field.\" As we read, magically, we enter that field with him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e-\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eTerence Culleton\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, author, \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Tree and Gone\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLike the moves of a skillful athlete, Chelius's craft in \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003ePlaying Fields\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e feels easeful and natural - for he is a master of metaphor and resonant detail. Each scene is rendered with clarity and a \"sprig of tenderness\" that does not deny difficulties. They \"never judge or accuse,\" providing us oft-needed \"lessons in civility.\" Chelius owns an acute sense of what the characters and objects in our lives signify to us, whether it be Hank Aaron giving his young fans \"an obliging wave\" before settling into position or a dismantled swing set in the back yard. Warmed by their maker's humane sensibility, these poems help us find what we may have overlooked or never thought worthy of notice.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e-\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eLuray Gross\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, author, \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eWith This Body\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 108\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.26 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 14, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47868308324573,"sku":"9781639807536","price":33.53,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0811\/9867\/8237\/files\/fsmB3CzWtj9781639807536.webp?v=1777611247","url":"https:\/\/handfulofbooks.com\/products\/playing-fields-paperback","provider":"Handful of Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}