Writing

BASEBALL DOGGEREL

In 2007, my friend Stuart Shea and I launched Bardball, dedicated to the revival of baseball doggerel. Every weekday during the baseball season (give or take), Bardball publishes poetry about the current baseball season, and a few of the past. Though it has many of my own poems on it, It’s a fan-driven site that always welcomes new contributors. If you or someone you know likes poetry and baseball, check out Bardball.

Here’s a sample of mine:

Ernie Harwell

Now the Tigers’ voice has been quieted.
He saw teams that won, and fans that rioted.
He saw a man play in the bigs after jail.
He saw a boy pitching tell his baseball a tale.
He saw a flawed man win 31 games,
The careers of good men go up in flames.
He watched a beloved ballpark decay
And the City of Wheels fall by the way.
Yet he knew in the end it was only a game.
God’s plan ignores things like money and fame.
A bat’s just a branch, a mitt is just leather.
Baseball’s true worth is bringing people together.

Some night, when a hit curves decidedly foul,
We’ll hear a faint voice with a sweet Georgia drawl,
Say, chuckling with fathomless love for it all,
“A man from Paradise just caught that ball.”

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ESSAYS

Occasionally I get into a half-serious mood and work on my expository writing. What keeps it fun is that I often get to record them for broadcast. I’ve read most of these on WBEZ, Chicago’s public radio outlet—many thanks to the good people there for the opportunity.

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 CHICAGO MAGAZINE

ChicagoLogo_248x40For three years, Dick Babcock at Chicago Magazine gave me free reign and an entire page for something we called “The Garner Report.” They were all satirical graphics – what the mag biz calls “charticles” – riffing on local and national issues. Since they were so graphically detailed, I’ve only reproduced three of them, which I hope you can read.

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A ROYAL REVENGE

BRITAIN QUEEN JUBILEETo commemorate Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee (and you probably didn’t even send a card, did you?), the BBC commissioned this story to be read over the radio. This was one of the oddest requests I’ve ever had, but also the most ego-boosting, since the story was broadcast all over the world. No word on whether QEII herself ever heard it.

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