Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs »

Ron Koertge is the author of many acclaimed novels, including DEADVILLE, STONER AND SPAZ, THE BRIMSTONE JOURNALS, and his first novel-in-verse about Kevin Boland, SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP. A two-time winner of the PEN Award, Ron Koertge lives in South Pasadena, California.

Fielding his social life is a bigger challenge for Kevin than hitting a fastball in Ron Koertge’s funny, insightful sequel to SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP.

Fourteen-year-old Kevin Boland has a passion for playing baseball, a knack for writing poetry — and a cute girlfriend named Mira who’s not much interested in either. But then, Kevin doesn’t exactly share Mira’s newfound fervor for all things green. So when Kevin signs up for open mike night at Bungalow Books and meets Amy, a girl who knows a sonnet from a sestina and can match his emails verse for verse, things start to get sticky. Should he stay with Mira? Or risk spoiling his friendship with Amy by asking her out? Ron Koertge, master of snappy dialogue and a deft poet, offers a fast-paced, sympathetic story that interweaves two narrative voices with humor and warmth.

The Washington Post - Mary Quattlebaum

In this novel-in-poems, author Ron Koertge successfully couples the tension and drive of a good story with the imagery and compression of fine poetry. He cuts against the stereotypes of dumb jocks and Goth poets to create a smart, every-guy protagonist whose down-to-earth voice and contemporary concerns refresh centuries-old poetic forms such as the villanelle, couplet, limerick and haiku. With this book, Koertge steps up to the plate—two outs, bases loaded—and stylistically knocks it out of the park.