Overview

The 5th Inning is poet and literary activist E. Ethelbert Miller's second memoir. Coming after Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer (published in 2000), this book finds Miller returning to baseball, the game of his youth, in order to find the metaphor that will provide the measurement of his life. At 60, he ponders whether his life can now be entered into the official record books as a success or failure. The 5th Inning is one man's examination of personal relationships, depression, love and loss. This is a story of the individual alone on the pitching mound or in the batters box. It's a box score filled with remembrance. It's a combination of baseball and the blues. The paperback has an additional chapter.

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9781604865219

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Reviews

A strong, real male voice, exploring the terrifying territory of growing older--in a marriage, in a family, in one's body. Ethelbert Miller writes with naked honesty and courage about what it is to be a man no longer young. Youth may have left him. Passion has not. --Joyce Maynard, author, At Home in the World

Unanswered questions. But beautifully proposed. This is real E. Ethelbert Miller and a little book to treasure. --www.swans.com Simply put, it's beautiful. --Joseph Ross, American University A strong, real male voice, exploring the terrifying territory of growing older--in a marriage, in a family, in one's body. Ethelbert Miller writes with naked honesty and courage about what it is to be a man no longer young. Youth may have left him. Passion has not. --Joyce Maynard, author, At Home in the World Beautifully written, every sentence is extremely well crafted and labored over. Each sentence is another peek into the man's heart. Although The 5th Inning can sometimes be overbearingly sad, it's never depressing. So far, this is the best book I've read this year. --Steve Hart, Razorcake It's clear that baseball is Miller's religion and the organizing metaphor for his life: 'Balls and strikes can also stand for BS. How much is thrown at a person by the time they reach 50?' --Jonetta Rose Barras, Washington Examiner Miller is not afraid to display his frailties, his misgivings about the time spent with his son and daughter, and his own strained relationships with his mother, father, and brother. He is open about his failures and asks how do we cope with failure in career, marriage, and life and how do we look at ourselves when we believe that we have failed as lovers, parents, and friends. --Brenda M. Greene, Neworld Review

Unanswered questions. But beautifully proposed. This is real E. Ethelbert Miller and a little book to treasure. --www.swans.com

Author Information

E. Ethelbert Miller is the editor of Poet Lore magazine, the board chair of the Institute for Policy Studies, and a board member of the Writer's Center. He is the author of Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer and How We Sleep on the Nights We Don't Make Love, which was an Independent Publisher Award Finalist. He is the recipient of the O. B. Hardison Jr. Poetry Prize, the Barnes & Noble/Writers for Writers Award, and a Fulbright grant to visit Israel. In March 2016, the AWP awarded him the George Garrett Award for Outstanding Community Service in Literature. He lives in Washington, DC.

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