“It’s a great day for a ballgame.”
—Ernie Banks
Almost immediately you are drawn into this story of a surprise, sudden relationship between two highly civilized people, both divorced and roughed up by life but not the least bit jaded. That the protagonist is so clearly the author himself adds a compelling, uninventible edge. And because the writer is post-Beat dynamo Fielding Dawson, the storytelling is bold, unpredictable, and fun.
Influenced by the no-boundaries creativity of Black Mountain College where he studied art under Franz Kline and writing under Charles Olson, Fielding Dawson (1930–2002) was a visual artist specializing in collage and the author of over twenty books. By the time he wrote A Great Day for a Ballgame, he’d already made his mark with novels such as The Mandalay Dream, the story collection Krazy Kat / The Unveiling and Other Stories 1951-1968, and An Emotional Memoir of Franz Kline. The Black Mountain Book, first printed in 1970 (revised and expanded in 1990), is one of the most personal and colorful memoirs of the legendary college in North Carolina.
Dawson’s experimental writing pushes the envelope, but that’s the point. What he takes away, the safety net of conventional prose, he gives back with vivid sensations that you might associate with visual art more than the literary. Unusual punctuation and risky placement of words can have the effect of speeding you up, helping you jump ahead, and connecting key thoughts successfully in a swift and satisfying way. At its best, Dawson’s prose is like flashbulbs popping, with words, glimpses of consciousness and feelings communicated with seeming ease. Of course, there’s nothing easy about it, but the effect is clear and on target. — from the Introduction by Jerry Rosco
A Great Day for a Ballgame was originally published in 1973 in hardcover. This new edition includes a brief biography of the author by critic and scholar Michael Hrebeniak. Fielding Dawson passed away in 2002.
Published by Rvive Books – paperback – 978-1935073-05-5 – $14.95