Writers on Boxing

Reading List

  • #111: ‘Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments’ by Saidiya Hartman

    #111: ‘Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments’ by Saidiya Hartman

    In ‘Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments’, Saidiya Hartman uses extensive research of a range of archival materials to expand, retell and imagine the lives of black women born in America in the early twentieth century – the first generation after emancipation. I came across this book as it’s on the reading list of my current module… Read more

  • #110: ‘Chasing The Great Gatsby: Freddie Welsh’s Saga’ by Gene Pantalone

    #110: ‘Chasing The Great Gatsby: Freddie Welsh’s Saga’ by Gene Pantalone

    ‘Chasing The Great Gatsby’ is essentially a biography of former world lightweight champion Freddie Welsh, by Gene Pantalone. There is, however, a large twist to this book which sets it apart from other boxer biographies: Pantalone’s theory that F. Scott Fitzgerald based the character of Jay Gatsby, protagonist of ‘The Great Gatsby’, on Welsh. This… Read more

  • #109: ‘President of Pandemonium’ by Luke G. Williams

    #109: ‘President of Pandemonium’ by Luke G. Williams

    ‘President of Pandemonium’ is Luke G. Williams’ attempt to document the wild life story of 1990s heavyweight prospect Ike Ibeabuchi. Published by Hamilcar Noir. This might seem quite a claim considering some of the crazy life stories written about in the books on this blog, but this might be the saddest boxing story I’ve read.… Read more

  • #108: ‘Going for Gold’ by Lisa Lintott

    #108: ‘Going for Gold’ by Lisa Lintott

    ‘Going for Gold’ by Lisa Lintott is a play based on the remarkable and sad story of Frankie Lucas. The play is currently on at Park Theatre in Finsbury Park, London, until 30 November 2024. The play text is published by Salamander Street. Born in St. Vincent, Lucas moved to Croydon, south London as a… Read more

  • #107: ‘Pugilistic Queer Performance: Working Through and Working Out’ by Fintan Walsh

    #107: ‘Pugilistic Queer Performance: Working Through and Working Out’ by Fintan Walsh

    ‘Pugilistic Queer Performance: Working Through and Working Out’ by Professor Fintan Walsh was published in volume 26, issue 4 of GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, and is also available to download (minus the featured images) via the Birkbeck University website. Walsh is currently Head of the School of Creative Arts, Culture and… Read more

  • #106: ‘Sweet Fighting Man: Ring of Truth’ by Melanie Lloyd

    #106: ‘Sweet Fighting Man: Ring of Truth’ by Melanie Lloyd

    Hi! It’s been a couple of months since I last posted. As I mentioned in my last post, I’m preparing to start a creative writing MA so have a lot of pre-reading (and writing!) that I’ve chosen to get into ahead of that course beginning. Also, for any of you that don’t already know, Lizzy… Read more