“For over fifty years, Wally Yonamine has been an important bridge between Japanese and American baseball.”- Hideki Matsui, NY Yankees New this month from the University of Nebraska Press, is Wally Yonamine: The Man Who Changed Japanese Baseball by Robert K. Fitts. After World War II, Wally Yonamine was the first Japanese American to play for NFL franchise as well as a professional baseball team. Playing at a pivotal time during American history when mistrust of the Japanese was high, Yonamine endured insults, riots, and threats from the yakuza (Japanese mafia).Yet he withstood and went on to become one of … Continue reading Tuesday Trivia: September 30, 2001

Read from the first chapter, "Ghost Town", of The Plain Sense of Things by Pamela Carter Joern:

“Gramp went to fetch Billy himself after the telegram arrived announcing that Carlene had died. Grandma took to her bed, turned her face to the rose patterned wallpaper. Gramp sat at her back, careful not to mar her Double Wedding Ring quilt, tentatively reached his hand out toward his wife but could not think what to offer. He shrugged his shoulders, stood, said well then, and clumped off to the Elmyra train station.

Continue reading “Off the Shelf: The Plain Sense of Things by Pamela Carter Joern”

September 22, 1888: The first issue of National Geographic Magazine is published. National Geographic is known for taking that in depth look into our world, our cultures, and nature that is necessary for a well balanced perspective. For me Antarctica is a perfect representation of this. To see what one of UNP’s authors have come to know about the continent, take a look at The Entire Earth and Sky: Views on Antarctica,by Leslie Carol Roberts. September 23, 1886: Lewis and Clark return to St. Louis after exploring the Pacific Northwest of the  United States. Oh, Lewis and Clark! However did … Continue reading This Week in History: September 22-26, 2008

“Longing itself is nothing but the heart’s open spaces,” New this month from the University of Nebraska is The Darkened Temple by Mari L’Esperance. Winner of the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry, this book concentrates on the disappearance of a mother and the space that leaves in the author’s heart. This week Linking in Lincoln will take a look at this book and see what we can make of the authors intentions and themes. Who is Mari L’Esperance? Well the curse of the poet is often that they are destined to be anonymous for most of their careers. Rarely … Continue reading Linking in Lincoln: September 24, 2008

A  Sparky Tuesday Trivia!!In 1987 poet, author, and former baseball player, Gary Gildner went to Poland to teach at the University of Warsaw on a Fulbright scholarship. One January day a sportswriter came knocking, asking for help with a baseball team he had organized, one that could not win. Gildner agreed to help him and out of it came the memoir, The Warsaw Sparks by Gary Gildner in which he reminisces about his time coaching baseball in Warsaw and the many colorful characters he encountered. This week Tuesday Trivia is going to take our own little trip to Warsaw (through … Continue reading Tuesday Trivia: September 22, 2008

Read from Chapter 3, "The First Sail", of Pacific Lady: The First Woman to Sail Solo across the World’s Largest Ocean by Sharon Sites Adams with Karen J. Coates:

"In the final days of preparation, my dearest friends threw me a party, and I would learn weeks later that I needed their memory to survive. I could subsist on the sheer words of people who believed in my voyage. Their thoughts would push me through the roughest waters. I would read and reread and reread again all those messages in my logbook: "Our love and best wishes, our pride and our prayers ride with you," they told me. "Some people have mountains that need climbing—you happen to have an ocean that needs crossing," they encouraged. "You really are the captain of your ship and the master of your soul." They made me laugh, too: "I said it to Christopher, I said it to Wilbur and Orville, now I say it to you—take up stamp collecting!"

Continue reading “Off the Shelf: Pacific Lady by Sharon Sites Adams with Karen J. Coates”

Well blogger, it’s a new week and we’ve got a ton of great stuff going on. As you’ve probably expected, there’s quite a bit of baseball and a little poetry, biography, and basketball to even things out. All I can say is that I hope you’re ready for another installment of This Week in History! September 15, 1936: American Baseball player Gaylord Perry was born. This baseball hall of famer played for 6 teams, including a brief stint in 1980 for the New York Yankees.  For a glance at the most treasured years of this team, check out The Postwar … Continue reading This Week in History: September 15-19, 2008

“Bell delivers on his promise to ‘burn the very Latin from the world’” New this month from the University of Nebraska Press, is No Planets Strike by Josh Bell.  This vivid debut collection of poetry from the Columbia University lecturer is serious, playful, modern, and subversive. His unique voice plays brilliantly upon the ear, and the striking imagery will leave the reader both dazzled and mystified. This week Linking in Lincoln will also play its part in producing some links to enhance your reading. Josh Bell slept with Julia Roberts? Well the poem says so; check it out for yourself … Continue reading Linking in Lincoln: September 18, 2008