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Playing in Time: Essays, Profiles, and Other True Stories
From jazz fantasy camp to running a movie studio; from a fight between an old guy and a fat guy to a fear of clowns--Carlo Rotella's Playing in Time delivers good stories full of vivid characters, all told with the unique voice and humor that have garnered Rotella many devoted readers in the New York Times Magazine , Boston Globe, and Washington Post Magazine , among others. The two dozen essays in Playing in Time , some of which have never before been published, revolve around the themes and obsessions that have characterized Rotella's writing from the boxing, music, writers, and cities. What holds them together is Rotella's unique focus on people, craft, and what floats outside the mainstream. "Playing in time" refers to how people make beauty and meaning while working within the constraints and limits forced on them by life, and in his writing Rotella transforms the craft and beauty he so admires in others into an art of his own.
Rotella is best known for his writings on boxing, and his essays here do not disappoint. It's a topic that he turns to for its colorful characters, compelling settings, and formidable life lessons both in and out of the ring. He gives us tales of an older boxer who keeps unretiring and a welterweight who is "about as rich and famous as a 147-pound fighter can get these days," and a hilarious rumination on why Muhammad Ali's phrase "I am the greatest" began appearing (in the mouth of Epeus) in translations of The Iliad around 1987. His essays on blues, crime and science fiction writers, and urban spaces are equally and deftly engaging, combining an artist's eye for detail with a scholar's sense of research, whether taking us to visit detective writer George Pelecanos or to dance with the proprietress of the Baby Doll Polka Club next to Midway Airport in Chicago.
Rotella's essays are always smart, frequently funny, and consistently surprising. This collection will be welcomed by his many fans and will bring his inimitable style and approach to an even wider audience.
Rotella is best known for his writings on boxing, and his essays here do not disappoint. It's a topic that he turns to for its colorful characters, compelling settings, and formidable life lessons both in and out of the ring. He gives us tales of an older boxer who keeps unretiring and a welterweight who is "about as rich and famous as a 147-pound fighter can get these days," and a hilarious rumination on why Muhammad Ali's phrase "I am the greatest" began appearing (in the mouth of Epeus) in translations of The Iliad around 1987. His essays on blues, crime and science fiction writers, and urban spaces are equally and deftly engaging, combining an artist's eye for detail with a scholar's sense of research, whether taking us to visit detective writer George Pelecanos or to dance with the proprietress of the Baby Doll Polka Club next to Midway Airport in Chicago.
Rotella's essays are always smart, frequently funny, and consistently surprising. This collection will be welcomed by his many fans and will bring his inimitable style and approach to an even wider audience.
284 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 18, 2016
One third of the book is reasoning about the condition humaine through taking a look at the boxing world. I never understood the fascination boxing has on some writers, and descriptions of fights and the air surrounding them bores me. I don't buy it that boxing is representative of something other than boxing.
But the pieces that Rotella wrote about musicians, town walks, clowns, scholars are usually more interesting, and he has a talent to find the right people to observe- people who are good at what they're doing, but would never get famous for it, beyond their local scenes they move in.
But the pieces that Rotella wrote about musicians, town walks, clowns, scholars are usually more interesting, and he has a talent to find the right people to observe- people who are good at what they're doing, but would never get famous for it, beyond their local scenes they move in.
August 3, 2014
I received this book free via a give away from the publisher. I wasn't familiar with the author, but I thought I'd give it a try. I quite enjoyed Rotella's insights into human nature. Even though I don't give a wet slap for boxing, I found I enjoyed the sections of the book devoted to boxing. I will definitely be seeking out more of his work.
February 5, 2024
Interesting essays. Didn't know the author before I received this book through U of Chicago ebooks program. Enjoyed the character studies, and have learned about blues musicians and boxers. Definitely reading about subjects that I knew little about. Gritty style of writing suited to these essays.
May 17, 2015
miniread freebook UofC. title essay excellent, as were some others
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews