The Fifth Inning: One Voice Crying in the Wilderness -Khalid Rashid Muhammad
Strangely enough, this sense of never being at home, this sense of not truly belonging anywhere, produces a friction that sets off the sparks of poetry. If I am always at the margins, then I am by necessity the observer; if I am always on the outside, then I am by definition independent; if I am never anchored to one place, then I am free to wander; if I am never blinded by loyalty, then I am free to speak the truth as I see it. -Martin Espada (From E. Ethelbert Miller‘s Interview with Espada on April 17, 2007) This bitter earth Can it be so cold Today you‘re young Too soon you‘re old -Etta James ―This Bitter Earth‖ In the prologue of Ralph Ellison‘s timeless novel Invisible Man, he uses lyrics from Louis Armstrong‘s ―What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue‖ to anchor his discussion on invisibility while capturing the soul and music of being both black and having the blues. ―I didn‘t want to become another Ralph Ellison,‖ begins E. Ethelbert Miller‘s latest memoir, The Fifth Inning. Loneliness, the blues, depression, love and loss, and sports are central themes explored in The Fifth Inning. While Invisible Man sings the blues of race, The Fifth Inning sings the blues of aging. Imagine the pensive pitcher alone on the mound humming Etta James. This is Miller approaching 60 years old. ―This is the story of the individual alone on the pitching mound or in the batter‘s box. It‘s a box score filled with remembrance. It‘s a combination of baseball and the blues,‖ the book‘s inside jacket reads. Flip a few pages, note a list of published works, continue past the title page, and stop at the acknowledgements page and notice thanks to Busboys & Poets and its owner, Andy Shallal, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), Kirsten Porter (the editor & third base coach for the memoir); love sent to dreamers and poets;
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