Events: Larry Baldassaro, Patrick W. Steele, United We Read, Sonya Renee Taylor

Here's the scoop on Boswell book events this week. Please note we are open Easter Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm.

Tuesday, March 27, 7:00 pm, at Boswell:
Lawrence Baldassaro, author of Baseball Italian Style: Great Stories Told by Italian American Major Leaguers from Crosetti to Piazza

From Chris Foran in the Journal Sentinel: "Baldassaro, a professor emeritus of Italian at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the author of Beyond DiMaggio: Italian Americans in Baseball, puts together decades of his interviews with players of Italian ancestry in this eclectic collection. It's a diverse bunch, from Hall of Famers (Yogi Berra, Joe Torre, Ron Santo, Phil Rizzuto) to journeymen (Al Ferrara, Sibby Sisti, Ken Aspromonte), from former Brewers (Sal Bando, Chris Bosio, Chris Capuano) to some of the best players in the game today (Anthony Rizzo, Joey Votto)."

Their stories provide a time capsule that documents not only the evolution of Italian American participation in the national pastime but also the continuity of the game and the many changes that have taken place, on and off the field. At a time when statistical analysis plays an increasingly prominent role in the sport, the monologues in this book are a reminder that the history of baseball is passed on to future generations more eloquently, and with much greater passion, through the words of those who lived it than it is by numerical data.

Lawrence Baldassaro, Professor Emeritus of Italian at UWM, is the author of Beyond DiMaggio: Italian Americans in Baseball, editor of Ted Williams: Reflections on a Splendid Life, and co-editor of The American Game: Baseball and Ethnicity. He has published articles in numerous sports encyclopedias and journals, has been a contributing writer for the Milwaukee Brewers Game Day magazine since 1990, and wrote the chapter on sports for The Routledge History of Italian Americans.

Wednesday, March 28, 6:30 pm, at Zimmerman Architectural Studios, 2122 W Mt Vernon Ave in Milwaukee:
Patrick Steele, author of Home of the Braves: The Battle for Baseball in Milwaukee

This event is sponsored by the Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear and cosponsored by Boswell. There is a $5 admission for this event. Purchase advance tickets here.

From Boswell's Tim McCarthy's review of Home of the Braves: "I've always wondered why that terrible and wonderful transition happened; this book gave me everything I needed. It's the political and economic story of the joy and early success that surrounded the Braves' arrival in 1953, and the rage over their bitter departure in 1966. More than that, the book explains how the Braves' move was the beginning of great change in Major League Baseball, with shifting franchises and expansion extending the league coast to coast, and with frustrated fans in many cities seeing their teams move in large part due of broadcast revenues with the advent of television. Steele's research into the actions and reactions from the entire spectrum of Milwaukee's community, and nationwide, is excellent. A fascinating read!"

From Chris Foran in the Journal Sentinel: "Unlike other books about the Milwaukee Braves, Steele's Home of the Braves focuses more on what happened off the field than on it. And what happened off the field, he shows in this trim but well-sourced history, was a hot mess. Aggressive new ownership and stubborn local government battled and bickered at a time when both the Braves and baseball were heading into dangerous slumps."

Patrick W. Steele is Associate Professor of History at Concordia University Wisconsin. He is a member of the Milwaukee Braves Historical Association.

Thursday, March 29, 7:00 pm, at Boswell:
The UWM English Department presents United We Read, featuring Mollie Boutell, Su Cho, and Eric Wegenke, now with faculty reader Rebecca Dunham

Discover the next literary superstar, as three graduate students from the creative writing program and one faculty member read from their work

Rebecca Dunham is Professor of English at UWM and Program Coordinator of Creative Writing. She the author of four books of poetry. Her first book, The Miniature Room, won the 2016 T.S. Eliot Prize. Her second book, The Flight Cage, was a Tupelo Press Open Reading Selection. Glass Armonica was awarded the 2013 Lindquist and Vennum Poetry Prize and was published by Milkweed Editions. Her most recent book of poetry, Cold Pastoral, was also published by Milkweed. Dunham’s chapbook, Fascicle, was published by dancing girl press.

Saturday, March 31, 7:00 pm, at Boswell:
Sonya Renee Taylor, author of The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love

This manifesto on radical self-love is life altering - required reading for anyone who struggles with body image. Come join us for a special evening with writer, performance poet, and transformational leader Sonya Renee Taylor, cosponsored by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and the UWM Women's Resource Center. This event is free but registration is requested. RSVP to sonyareneetaylormke.bpt.me.

Humans are a varied and divergent bunch with all manner of beliefs, morals, and bodies. Systems of oppression thrive off our inability to make peace with difference and injure the relationship we have with our own bodies.

The Body Is Not an Apology offers radical self-love as the balm to heal the wounds inflicted by these violent systems. World-renowned activist and poet Sonya Renee Taylor invites us to reconnect with the radical origins of our minds and bodies and celebrate our collective, enduring strength. As we awaken to our own indoctrinated body shame, we feel inspired to awaken others and to interrupt the systems that perpetuate body shame and oppression against all bodies. When we act from this truth on a global scale, we usher in the transformative opportunity of radical self-love, which is the opportunity for a more just, equitable, and compassionate world for us all.

Sonya Renee Taylor is the founder and radical executive officer of The Body Is Not an Apology. She has been featured on HBO, BET, NPR, and in The New York Times, New York Magazine, and USA Today.