A Whole Other Ball Game: Women's Literature on Women's Sport

From the Publisher

"A Whole Other Ball Game shares wonderful stories that reveal the 'inherent truths' of women's sport from the 1890s to the present—strength, courage, commitment, and passion."—Donna Lopiano, Executive Director, Women's Sport Foundation

"A ground-breaking anthology, full of surprises. Joli Sandoz adds writers of the stature of Adrienne Rich, Toni Cade Bambara, and Ellen Gilchrist to the canon of sports literature, while also bringing talented unknowns before a wider public for the first time."—Michael Oriard, Former Center for the Kansas City Chiefs; Author of Dreaming of Heroes: American Sports Fiction, 1968-1980

"Energetic, thoughtful explorations of the liberating possibilities of sport for women. Many of the pieces here deal with the struggles of women—especially adolescents—trying to accept that competition is good, that winning is even better, and that it's possible to be both a woman and an athlete without slighting either."—Kirkus Reviews

"This book offers insight into the meaning of the sport experience through the voices of women. A 'women's way of sport' emerges here."—Carole A. Oglesby, Ph.D., Department of Physical Education, Temple University

Kirkus Reviews

American women, editor Sandoz observes, have long had a "fierce love of sport": In 1866, Vassar College already fielded two women's baseball teams. That love, based on the evidence of these mostly contemporary stories, poems, and novel excerpts, has produced some energetic, thoughtful explorations of the liberating possibilities of sport for women. Many of the pieces here deal with the struggles of women—especially adolescents—trying to accept that competition is good, that winning is even better, and that it's possible to be both a woman and an athlete without slighting either. Stephanie Grant's story "Posting-Up" offers a tough- minded description of the manner in which her adolescent narrator discovers the exhilaration of playing basketball well and aggressively. "Scotti Scores," by Jane Gilliland, carries the idea a step further, exploring how the members of a high-school hockey team astonish themselves and their coach by cooperating to outplay a far more experienced team. Stories by Laurie Colwin, Ellen Gilchrist, Sara Maitland, and Jennifer Levin are particularly strong, as are the excerpts from novels by Carol Anshaw and Sara Vogan. Some tales suffer from seeming too programmatic, too thin and message-laden. But, overall, a useful introduction to an overlooked area in contemporary fiction and poetry.