Written by Ashely Rosenbaum
An American ex-baseball player teaching a class in communist Poland is approached by a sportswriter offering a daunting opportunity: coaching a professional baseball team on a losing streak. The events that follow are recorded in the memoir “The Warsaw Sparks,” written by the American himself — recently visiting author Gary Gildner.The Harding University English Department hosted Gildner, a widely known poet and writer, on Thursday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. in Cone Chapel to speak and host a book signing and question-and-answer session.Gildner’s other well-recognized books include “The Second Bridge,” “Blue Like Heavens” and “The Crush.”The chair of the English Department, Dr. John Williams, said Gildner heard about Harding through mutual friend Andrea Budy, one of Arkansas’ most successful poets, and requested to come speak.”Gary was highly recommended by Andrea, herself a prize-winning poet, and as soon as I read up on him and read some of his poetry, I knew he would be one of the most substantial writers we’ve ever hosted,” Williams said. “So for the first time in my tenure here, a nationally known writer asked us to come. How could I refuse?”Williams said he believes that Gildner is an author who should not be forgotten because of his great talent.”Gary Gildner is that often overlooked and undervalued American treasure — a professional writer whose work, though not in the national media spotlight, has shown consistent, award-winning excellence for decades,” Williams said. “He writes because he loves the craft. He is also unpretentious and generous with his time.”Williams said he thinks people enjoy hearing Gildner speak because of how he relates everyday life to his subjects.”His subject matter is nature and ordinary people, two things most of us can relate to,” Williams said. “But he also provides telling insights into his subjects, performing well the artistic role of ‘defamiliarizing’ the ordinary things and people of life to show their unique value.”Gildner hosted a question-and-answer session on writing with Harding students. Williams believed that the 20 books Gildner has published gave him plenty of experience on which to base his advice. “As always, we hope our student writers can be inspired by the hard work, talent and success of people like Gary Gildner, and that readers can find one more valuable companion in their literary journeys,” Williams said.
