The Warsaw Sparks by Gary Gildner

The Warsaw Sparks

A Memoir

Gary Gildner

Bison Books · Print & ebook · September 1, 2008

In 1987 noted poet and author Gary Gildner went to Poland on a Fulbright scholarship to teach at the University of Warsaw.

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Who it’s for
A poet’s memoir of coaching a Polish baseball team, with hope and memory in view.
Themes
Cross-cultural baseball, Hope and memory, A poet’s education
Genres
Personal Memoirs, Sports Lives, Baseball Coaching

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About this book

In 1987 noted poet and author Gary Gildner went to Poland on a Fulbright scholarship to teach at the University of Warsaw. One January day, a Warsaw sportswriter came knocking on Gildner’s classroom door with a problem and a request. The professional baseball team he had organized the year before could not win; would the professor—who he had heard was a baseball player—come help?

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Told with gripping lyric simplicity, The Warsaw Sparks is about an American’s experience coaching a baseball team in Poland and about hope and memory and the education of a poet. Prepare to meet an unlikely cast of characters, including Stan Musial, Lech Walesa, Dariusz the Organizer, and such Sparks as Froggy, Pizza Hut, the Cubans, and little Jerzy Bin the catcher: “Call me George, Coach. Like George Herman Babe Ruth.”

Baseball in Warsaw

A poet’s memoir of coaching a Polish baseball team, with hope and memory in view.

Come here for

  • An American professor’s experience coaching the Warsaw Sparks
  • The team’s organizer and players, including little Jerzy Bin

Expect

  • A memoir set around baseball in Poland
  • Reflections on hope, memory, and a poet’s education

Where it sits

Sports Lives44%
Personal Memoirs36%
Baseball Coaching27%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Personal Memoirs
  • Baseball
  • Baseball Coaching
Authors
Gary Gildner
Publisher
Bison Books
Published
September 1, 2008
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Cross-cultural baseball · Hope and memory · A poet’s education
Reading lane
Personal Memoirs