Tag Archives: jerry klinkowitz

Short Season and other stories by Jerry Klinkowitz: a short review

This book lacks the wicked black humor of Klinkowitz’ other baseball novel, Basepaths, with which it shares some characters. All the same, the best stories here are both absurd and delightful, while others are passionate, and others simply preserve well-observed moments. Well worth a few hours of your time.

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Basepaths by Jerry Klinkowitz: a short review

A novel about a hilariously tragic week in the life of a minor league baseball team and its manager. The chapter called Openers, which describes the first inning of the Opening Day game, is absolutely priceless, and the funniest tale I’ve read in years. Other chapters are similarly fun.

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Owning a Piece of the Minors by Jerome Klinkowitz: a short review

Jerry Klinkowitz, who teaches at the University of Northern Iowa, was one of the owners of the Waterloo Diamonds from 1978 until they were sold in 1994. This series of essays explores that experience from a variety of perspectives; he talks about how he got involved with the team, about how he wrote a novel (Short Season) based on his ownership experiences, about his grandstand neighbors, about team officer Mildred Boyenga, and about why the Diamonds failed.

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