Tag: poetry

From Casey to KC: Kevin Kane’s Unique Take on a Baseball Classic

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting Lawrence Hogan author of several books about Black American baseball. His book Shades of Glory is widely considered a baseball literary classic. Larry recommended a video that he produced featuring his friend and associate Kevin Kane. Mr. Kane is a writer, a musician and a playwright. The video features Mr. Kane’s reading of his poem From Casey to KC: Breaking the Line of the Mudville Nine.

We have all heard of the famous poem Casey at the Bat by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. That poem became famous after being performed by actor DeWolf Hopper and has been frequently recited by many different performers in many different venues.

As you will see from the link below Mr. Kane has an intriguingly different take on Thayer’s theme and an updated performance that matches and exceeds Hopper’s. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

Bing Videos

From Casey to KC: Breaking the Line with the Mudville Nine was commissioned by the Cooperstown National Baseball Hall of Fame where Mr. Kane presented a program of readings with NPR essayist and sportswriter Frank DeFord.  DeFord read the original Casey, and then introduced Kevin, who read his work. Since then, Kevin has done readings of this long-form story-poem at New York City’s 92nd Street Y, at the Society for American Baseball Research’s National Conference and at many libraries, historical societies and colleges in New Jersey and New York, and at the National Negro League Museum in Kansas City. 

Singer-songwriter, playwright and poet Kevin Kane

Mr. Kane’s play A Love of the Game is one of many of his plays produced in New York City and regional theaters. As for his musical talents one CD reviewer suggested his writing was “brilliantly funny, yet tragic.  A cross between Kris Kristofferson and John Prine.  He writes country standards that will last.”  His songs have been covered on solo efforts by members of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, by many club/cabaret singers in New York City, and by a couple of singers in Houston.  He’s been writing, performing, and recording for a long time – with many CDs on iTunes, Spotify and other digital outlets.

Kevin is proud to note that he has been featured on WFUV-Fordham radio, as a guest artist on their “A New York Slice—NYC Singer/Songwriters of Note.”

Kevin Kane is truly a talented guy.

Breaking

A poem by Ed Romond

A few weeks back I was fortunate to attend a wonderful event by The Carriage House Poetry Series in my town of Fanwood. The event featured readings by Edwin Romond the author of five collections of poetry. I had recently finished some research on Hank Aaron and a post that you may have read about the anniversary of his momentous achievement breaking Babe Ruth’s home run record. One of Ed’s poems was about that very event and he gave me permission to post his wonderful poem here.

Breaking In memory of Hank Aaron (1934-2021)

1953 in Washington, DC Hank Aaron could see the Capitol Dome, glistening symbol of freedom, through windows of the cafe where he and his black teammates had just finished breakfast. After the waitress took their plates to the kitchen he heard glassware breaking, smashed so no one else would use them, so no one else would eat from plates that had touched the forks that had been in the mouths of black American men.

But Hank would answer hate with excellence playing baseball with graceful greatness through the 50’s, 60’s and, on one Atlanta night in ’74, did his own breaking, smashing #715, one more homer than Babe Ruth whose record stood unshattered for five decades. And in 2002 Aaron returned to Washington, DC this time to stand in the White House, just blocks from that cafe, to receive the “Presidential Medal of Freedom” from George W. Bush and as the East Room audience stood and cheered, Hank’s face broke into a grand slam smile before sitting down to dine on the First Family china.

This poem can be found in Ed Romond’s award-winning poetry collection “Man at the Railing” published by NQY Books http://www.nyq.org

The Carriage House Poetry Series of Fanwood NJ is co-directed by poets Adele Kenny and Tom Plante. https://carriagehousepoetryseries.blogspot.com/

Adele is the poetry editor of Tiferet. Tom is the editor of Exit 13 Magazine