Tag: the sweet science
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#92: ‘The Big Smoke’ by Adrian Matejka
‘The Big Smoke’ is Adrian Matejka’s 2013 collection of poetry which tracks, in lyrical form, the life and career of heavyweight champion ‘Papa’ Jack Johnson. There was a period of my life in which I was completely entrenched in poetry. Between 2014 and 2020 I did little else than write poetry and interview/record hundreds of…
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#91: ‘Death of a Boxer’ by Pete Carvill
‘Death of a Boxer’ is Pete Carvill’s ode (or rather series of odes) to boxing, a collection of essays outlining his relationship with the sport. The book was published by Biteback Publishing, February 2024. Carvill walks us through what is now a strained association with the noble art, exploring themes of masculinity; the importance of…
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#90: ‘Headshot’ by Rita Bullwinkel
‘Headshot’ is Rita Bullwinkel’s innovative novel about a group of girl boxers, published by Daunt Books in March 2024. The first thing to say about this book is how interesting the format is: it follows eight boxers (from the quarter-final stage) competing across two days in a fictional amateur tournament in the USA. The book’s…
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#89: ‘The Constant Sinner’ by Mae West
‘The Constant Sinner’, published in 1930, is Mae West’s novel whose protagonist, Babe Gordon, grows up around New York’s 1920s professional boxing circuit. The novel opens by introducing us to Babe, who is essentially a teenage prostitute being used by boxing promoters to either sabotage the chances of an opponent, by disrupting their training and…
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#88: ‘Dancing Shoes is Dead’ by Gavin Evans
‘Dancing Shoes is Dead’ is Gavin Evans’ memoir about his life as a political activist and lifelong boxing fan. The book is published by Black Swan. The memoir charts Evans’ life growing up in Apartheid-era South Africa and his early involvement as a committed activist, eventually aligning with the ANC. His political ideals are interwoven…
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#87: ‘The Saga of Sock’ by John V. Grombach
‘The Saga of Sock’ by John V. Grombach, published in 1949, was a contemporary attempt to trace the history of boxing from its inception (as stated in this book) in Ancient Greece, through the place it held in the Roman Empire, to its reemergence in Georgian Britain, with the ultimate intention of showing the influence…
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#86: ‘Mighty Atoms’ by Amanda Whittington
‘Mighty Atoms’, written by Amanda Whittington, is a play which was commissioned by Hull Truck Theatre in 2017, the year in which Hull was named as Britain’s City of Culture. As with so many plays, I heard about this one only weeks after it was performed near where I live. Annoyingly, the play was staged…
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#85: ‘The Final Round’ by Jane Couch and Abi Smith
‘The Final Round’ is the autobiography of Jane Couch, co-written by Abi Smith and published by Pitch Publishing. It feels like perfect timing that I am writing this blog post about the autobiography of one of the most influential women boxers in recent history, while my wife and I are at one of the world’s…
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#84: ‘Bella of Blackfriars’ by Leslie Bell
‘Bella of Blackfriars’ is Leslie Bell’s biography of the first woman to work as a boxing promoter in Britain. Bella Burge was born (Leah Belle Orchard) to British parents in New York in 1877 before moving, with her mother, to Whitechapel, London when she was four years old. By the age of 11 Bella was…
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#83: ‘Slaughter in the Streets – When Boston Became Boxing’s Murder Capital’ by Don Stradley
‘Slaughter in the Streets’ is Don Stradley’s whistlestop tour of 20th-Century Boston’s murky links to organised crime, and its often fatal links to boxing. It is published by Hamilcar Noir which is fast becoming one of my favourite publishers. To paraphrase my old nan: This book is just one bloody thing after another! Beginning with…
Writers on Boxing 