BeatRoute Magazine Alberta print e-edition - July 2017

CITY
Grandslammin’ grace
BASEBALL LIFE ADVICE:
Loving the Game That Saved Me
By Stacey May Fowles
Published by McClelland and Stewart
In the fall of 2011 Stacey May Fowles was suffering
from a bout a depression. Not just the blues but
the kind of deep, dark downer that paralyzes and
immobilizes.
The author of Baseball Life Advice was confined to
a couch in her basement feeling nothing, caring for
nobody.
“I had had bouts of anxiety before but this time I
was surprised by how little I wanted to do, how nothing
moved me, how little I felt.”
Six years later Fowles is a going concern – a successful
novelist, essayist, frequent television and radio
guest. Her newsletter Baseball Life Advice (available
by subscription online here tinyletter.com/staceymayfowles)
has grown from an initital 111 subscribers to
more than 3,000.
She’s now on a cross-Canada book tour which included
a stopover as a guest of Calgary’s Wordfest. She
read from her book at Central Memorial Library June
21 in a double header with Mark Kingwell, University
of Toronto philosophy professornd author of another
baseball book (Fail Better) which takes a philosophical
approach to aspects of the popular summer pastime.
In an interview that day in Calgary Fowles explained
how she was able to move off the couch and into a
successful career in social and mainstream media.
What brought her from the depths of darkness to
the spotlight?
In a word – baseball.
“I’m not spiritual but the 2011 post season felt like
that to me,” she said.
The central figure in this dramatic turnaround was
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander.
“It was his year (Verlander won both the top pitching
award (Cy Young) as well as the MVP for his work
in the American League).
On the couch Fowles was listlessly channel surfing
when she tuned into the Tigers’ playoff run and Verlander’s
virtuoso pitching performance.
by Robert Bragg
“ I felt like he couldn’t fail and I was failing,” she said.
Verlander was, as the sports cliches have it, ‘carrying
his team’ at the time. Unknown to him he was also
carrying Stacey May Fowles out of her depression.
Detroit – powered by Verlander’s pitching – beat
Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees in playoffs
only to succomb to the San Francisco Giants in the
2011World Series.
For Fowles all this happened “just when I needed it”.
But why baseball?
Growing up in Toronto Fowles was a sometimes fan,
brought to games as a child by her father, (the book
is dedicated to her dad) but never an all-consuming
fan-atic, until Verlander.
“It could have been anything but for me, it was
baseball. I don’t dislike other games or the arts but I
just love baseball more.”
“I feel safe and at home in the ball stadium. I love
the slow pace and I love a game where you always feel
there’s another chance.”
Out of the chance she got that fall Fowles found a
way to connect her calling with a way to make a living.
“I talked it over with some friends and family asking
how would they respond to a newsletter talking about
baseball from a life-shaping perspective.”
I didn’t want stats but to focus instead on how
people respond to players, what players think and say
about the game and what pets they might have.
Interest was immediate. More than 100 people
subscribed initially in 2015. Now more than 3000 pay
to be e-mailed Fowles’ newletter/advice column.
For non-subscribers , or those yet to subscribe,
Fowles’ book offers a selection of her work ranging
from the frankly intimate – “thoughts on Baseball and
Recovery” to the more critical “Cheating, Empathy, and
Making Sense of a PED Suspension”.
She offers positive takes of “Big Bad Bautista” and
insights into lesser lights such as Dionner Navarro and
Adam Lind.
She does not like the male chauvinism of the sports
world but is all for people jumping on the band wagon
late in the season to support a playoff run.
As former Jays pitcher R. A. Dickey says in the
foreward Fowles “challenges us to look beyond the stat
sheet in order to drink deeply from a game that is so
much more than the players who play it.”
Amen.
Stacey May Fowles
WHAT SHAKES
YYSCENE’s quick scan go-to-guide for July
July is a busy month in Calgary, with the Stampede taking up a chunk of people’s schedules
on the midway and with the varied entertainment they have lined up. This year? Ben
Harper? Seriously? It’s end days, people. Nevertheless, here is a look at what else you are
in for this month, and it’s a lot.
Embrace your artsy side — you
can avoid the crowds on the midway
and take in some alternative
Stampede culture with The Painted
Windows Exhibition July 1-15
throughout Bridgeland/Riverside,
Victoria Park and East Village. The I
Am Western group exhibition takes
place at cSPACE King Edward until
October as well.
There are so many great bands
to see off the Stampede Grounds
during these 10 days, with The Bell
Live Series at the King Eddy featuring
such great roots acts as Leeroy
Stagger, Lindi Ortega, Nice Horse, Mariel Buckley, Blake Reid, Fred Eaglesmith and JJ
Shiplett with local faves HighKicks thrown in for good measure. Over at the Wildhorse
Saloon you can see some great shows including Sam Roberts Band July 9, Elliott Brood
July 11 and BC/DC July 11, and at the Cowboys Stampede Tent they have such acts as
EDM giants The Chainsmokers on July 9 and Diplo on July 12, with The Offspring and
Sublime with Rome on July 10.
On July 6 you’ll want to be at the Palace for Tiger Army & Murder By Death with Tim
Barry, then on July 8 head to the Palomino for The Matinee with The North Sound and
guests. Local giants Preoccupations will perform July 12 at Commonwealth, The Varmoors
with North by North, Night Committee and Brendan Russel are at Nite Owl on July 14, and
on July 15 you can take in Questlove at Commonwealth or Cash Cash at Marquee. Locals
Ethan Cole and Ella Jean will have their double album launch July 16 at Ironwood, and July
18 sees legends The Melvins with guests Spotlights at Marquee.
Into dance? Metamorphosis —
Dance Action Lab 2017 is presented
by Dancers’ Studio West and
takes place July 20-22 at Decidedly
Jazz Danceworks.
July 22 check out the Mobina
Galore Album Release Party with
Miesha & the Spanks and Heart
Attack Kids at Palomino, then take
a bit of a breather to prepare for
the Calgary Folk Music Festival,
which runs July 27-30 at Prince’s
Island Park and features such great
acts as Coeur de Pirate, Billy Bragg
& Joe Henry, Badbadnotgood, City
and Colour, Michael Kiwanuka and
many more.
End the month at Dickens Pub July 28-31 for the 6th Annual Terminus Festival featuring
electronic, goth, industrial and synth music, or The Calgary International Blues Fest
which starts July 31 and runs into August.
There. That’s your month sorted. For complete listings head to theyyscene.ca.
Kari Watson
Editor, writer, events listings curator
theYYSCENE.ca
The Chainsmokers
Lindi Ortega
8 | JULY 2017 • BEATROUTE CITY