E. Ethelbert Miller

The poet lives inside and outside of life. In the little book of e poet E. Ethelbert Miller embraces the Japanese poetic form of haiku to comment on our contemporary world. Written during the pandemic Miller's poems follow in the tradition of Basho and Richard Wright. the little book of e is a collaboration with translator Rafi Ellenson. Haiku presented in English and Hebrew is symbolic of how language can bring people together. Miller and Ellenson have given us a book that shows how Black and Jewish relations can continue to be a beacon of hope. This book is filled with words that blossom like flowers.

The stories of the Black men and women who combated racial prejudice in Washington, DC, with sports and musicIn the Nation's Capital, music and sports have played a central role in the lives of African Americans, often serving as a barometer of social conflict and social progress—for sports clubs and ball games, jam sessions and concerts, offered entertainment, enlightenment, and encouragement. At times, they have also offered a means of escape from the harsh realities of everyday life. Rhythms of Resistance and Resilience tells the story of these musicians and athletes who have used their skills and their determination to achieve success in the face of discrimination. Jackson begins with pioneers such as James Reese Europe, who formed the first musicians' union and fought as a member of the Harlem Hellfighters in World War I, and ends with giants of the twentieth century, such as Duke Ellington and Georgetown University basketball coaching legend John Thompson Jr. Readers interested in the history of Washington, DC, the civil rights movement, racial justice, music, and sports will draw important lessons from these stories of the Black men and women who found in sports and music spaces to combat racial prejudice and bring people in the District of Columbia together.

One can watch many baseball games before seeing a triple play. With this book E. Ethelbert Miller completes his baseball trilogy. How I Found Love Behind the Catcher's Mask is a collection of poems that celebrates baseball by putting a spin on how the game brings meaning to one's life. Well known Washington, D. C. poet, former Howard University professor, and literary activist, Ethelbert Miller is personal and political when writing from the batter's box or pitching mound. Here are poems that tip their caps to Joe DiMaggio, Ken Griffey Sr., and Emmett Ashford. Miller's book does not duck from examining the Black Sox Scandal, the career of Glenn Burke or the tragedy of Carl Mays. Miller's own life at times is a playing field for sadness and what Ellington called "mood indigo." But his love for baseball is a complete game and continues to reflect the hard heat of pleasure. After If God Invented Baseball and When Your Wife Has Tommy John Surgery and other Baseball Stories, this book, like a triple play, is a thing of beauty. "Baseball should create a new position, poet laureate, and give it to E. Ethelbert Miller. In his third collection of baseball poems ('a double turning into a trilogy, ' as he writes), Miller weaves knuckleballs and pickoff throws with universal themes of family, race, relationships--and the issues of our time, like rioting and voting rights. With allusions to Monbouquette and Giacometti, Henderson and Danticat, How I Found Love Behind the Catcher's Mask will make you laugh, think and feel a whole new way about baseball and the world around it."--Tyler Kepner, national baseball columnist for the New York Times and author of the best-selling K: A History of Baseball In Ten Pitches "Ethelbert Miller is one of the most significant and influential poets of our time." --Gwendolyn Brooks

Here are poems that celebrate and interpret the game by one of America's finest poets. They are for everyone who has experienced the magic released when three holy things come together: bat, ball and glove. "Ethelbert Miller is one of the most significant and influential poets of our time." --Gwendolyn Brooks If God Invented Baseball is a complete game of baseball poems, a full nine innings pitched by a "master twirler," whose complete arsenal includes fastballs, curves and change-ups, and the occasional knuckler, to keep readers swinging for the fences, his full artistry on display. Ethelbert Miller's work captures the enjoyment of the game from childhood to old age. Baseball fans will place this book next to their scorecards, peanuts and beer. Poetry readers will equally be delighted. If God Invented Baseball is a book for the ballpark and the home. "Ethelbert's replay of baseball joys and sorrows is a must read. He brings us THE GAME with skill and grace. It is an inside the park home run" -- Clifford Alexander