First National Baseball Poetry Festival in Worcester will be poetry in motion

WORCESTER — The city will host a "first of its kind" National Baseball Poetry Festival uniting baseball and poetry with events April 28-30 at Polar Park and in the Canal District.

It's also an appropriate collaboration, given in 1880 J. Lee Richmond of the Worcester Worcesters pitched the first perfect game in Major League history, while what has been called the most famous baseball poem, "Casey at the Bat," was written by Ernest Lawrence Thayer in 1888 in the city.

And just as the baseball season gets going in earnest, April is also National Poetry Month.

At a press conference Monday at the Worcester Public Library Main Branch on Salem Street announcing the National Baseball Poetry Festival, speakers said it will welcome baseball lovers of all ages and feature baseball poets young and old.

The event is the idea of Steven Biondolillo, founder and president of Biondolillo Associates of Wellesley, which organizes large-scale events and fundraisers. The festival has brought together city business and civic and educational leaders.

"We knew right off the bat it would be a home run for our city," said Charisse Martinez, director of sales for Discover Central Massachusetts. "The festival is going to bring many visitors to our region."

Many activities planned

Among the activities, the festival will feature two baseball games as the Worcester Red Sox take on the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the New York Yankees' Triple A team (April 28 and 29), fireworks (April 28), on-field events including a youth poetry reading (April 29), and an evening of poetry open-mic venues in Worcester’s Canal District (April 29).

About 30 baseball poets from across the country associated with Baseball Bard – The Poetry of the Game are expected to come to Worcester for the open mic readings. Baseball poetry competitions for poets of all ages are ongoing with a deadline of April 3.

For complete information about the festival, go to baseballpoetryfest.org.

Having the first National Poetry Baseball Festival here "just made all the sense in the world," Biondolillo, a baseball and baseball poetry fan, said in an interview. "The heritage, the renaissance that Worcester is undergoing — that's an important factor."

Timothy P. Murray, president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, said conversations about the festival started last year as Biondolillo spoke to Richard Burke, CEO, Fallon Health, who in turn talked with the chamber of commerce. From there, an organizing committee was formed.

"Baseball has got a tremendous history here in the city of Worcester," Murray said.

The same is also true with baseball poetry, with Worcester being the home of the poem "Casey at the Bat," Murray noted.

Reunification of 'two worlds'

Biondolillo said he has been impressed with the collegial nature of everyone involved from all segments of the city and their enthusiasm. "Everyone said, 'Let's do it,' " he said.

"The festival aims to reunite two worlds," he said. They are the world of athletics, as exemplified in this instance by baseball, and the world of poetry, he said.

The ancient Greeks at their Olympics celebrated sport and poetry, he said. "Without poetry to sing about the achievements, the achievements would be lost."

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Karen Sharpe, associate vice president of Leadership Giving at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and also a poet, said, "We believe that poetry and baseball poetry is for everyone. We hope the festival inspires poetry lovers."

The poetry competition being run in conjunction with the festival has several categories including students grades 4-12 and Little Leaguers and college students and "all poets everywhere."

For competition details go to baseballpoetryfest.org/baseball-poetry-contests. Winners will be recognized at Polar Park April 29.

Sharpe will be one of the poets at the open mics in the Canal District that evening.

"I'll be sharing a poem about Joe DiMaggio and hot dogs," she said.

'Casey' connection

Several other people who spoke at Monday's announcement referenced "Casey at the Bat."

Casey, alas, strikes out in Thayer's humorous poem. But this time with the National Baseball Poetry Festival, there will likely be joy in Mudville.

Thayer's poem has been called "the single most famous baseball poem ever written" by Baseball Almanac. The poem was reportedly written in 1888, when Thayer was at his family’s home at 67 Chatham St. in Worcester.

District 1 City Councilor Sean M. Rose said it's "only natural" that Worcester would host a baseball and poetry event.

Jason Homer, executive director of the Worcester Public Library, said the library is the home of the "Casey at the Bat" manuscript. The library is also currently hosting "Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Exhibit: Buck O'Neil: Right on Time."

Dr. Charles Steinberg, president of the Worcester Red Sox, said, "We have always been overwhelmed by Worcester's focus on the arts."

Poetry, in particular, plays a bigger role with the Worcester Red Sox than people may think, Steinberg added. Polar Park has a statue of Casey at the Bat.

"I think that poetry is a secret passion a lot of people have. It's a wonderful form of verbal art," he said.

Elizabeth Cruz, president of the Latin American Business Organization, and Martinez said they hoped the festival would be here to stay.

"We know it's found its home in Worcester for many year to come," Martinez said.

Biondolillo said the festival "is a labor of love" and added that all proceeds will go to four nonprofit organizations, including the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce's Worcester Regional Strategic Opportunities Foundation; the WooSox Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Worcester Red Sox; the United Way of Central Massachusetts and the Worcester Arts Council.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: National Baseball Poetry Festival in Worcester will be poetry in motion