New York's Varsity Letters sports reading series returns on April 4 at 8 p.m. with on all-baseball night in honor of the return of the national pastime. At this free monthly event at a Lower East Side bar, hosted by Gelf, Steven Goldman, Jonah Keri, Curt Smith and Cor van den Heuvel will read from and talk about their work, and take questions.

Steven Goldman and Jonah Keri will discuss two Baseball Prospectus books that unveil surprising insights about the game. Longtime Yankees broadcaster Mel Allen is the subject of Curt Smith's recent biography. And Cor van den Heuvel will read haikus and senryus from a new collection of poetry about the sport. Check back here before the event for interviews with the night's guests.

Admission is FREE. Please spread the word to sports fans and book lovers.

Event Details:

Happy Ending Lounge (official site, CitySearch, MySpace)
302 Broome St.
(between Forsyth and Eldridge)
212-334-9676
J/M/Z/F to Delancey
B/D to Grand Street
Look for the hot-pink awning with the words "Health Club" on it.

Doors open at 7:30.
Readings start at 8 sharp.
FREE!

More on this month's authors:

Steven Goldman, co-author of Baseball Prospectus 2007: The Essential Guide to the 2007 Baseball Season

Jonah Keri, co-author of Baseball Between the Numbers

Curt Smith, author of The Voice, a biography of longtime sportscaster Mel Allen.

Cor van den Heuvel, editor of Baseball Haiku.

Copies of the books will be available for sale, courtesy Mobile Libris. Questions? Suggestions for future readings? Email varsityletters@gmail.com.
Varsity Letters is on MySpace.

Upcoming events

May 2: Mike Freeman, author of Jim Brown: The Fierce Life of an American Hero; Jeremy Schaap, author of Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics; and Michael Weinreb, author of The Kings of New York: A Year Among the Geeks, Oddballs, and Genuises Who Make Up America's Top High School Chess Team.

June 6: Rus Bradburd, author of Paddy on the Hardwood: A Journey in Irish Hoops; Donald Evans, author of Good Money After Bad; and Sports Illustrated's Rick Reilly, author of Sports Illustrated: Hate Mail from Cheerleaders and Other Adventures from the Life of Reilly.

July 5: Jim Gorant, author of Fanatic: Ten Things All Sports Fans Should Do Before They Die; John Heidenry, author of The Gashouse Gang: How Dizzy Dean, Leo Durocher, Branch Rickey, Pepper Martin, and Their Colorful, Come-from-Behind Ball Club Won the World Series—and America's Heart—During the Great Depression; and other authors TBA.

Note: July's Varsity Letters event occurs on the first Thursday of the month, because the first Wednesday is the 4th.

Email this entry to:

Your email address:

Message (optional):