Böcker av George Genovese

A number of the works in this collection centre on the notion of 'the journey'. In all instances, it is ultimately an inner personal one, psychic or spiritual in nature in accordance with whatever term best resonates with the reader. For the author, the journey is a search for meaning, a place of habitation and belonging, of reflective respite away from the round of daily struggle and mere survival, a wondrous space where pause for thought, silence and peace allow an upsurge of creation and culture to blossom. Regret, sorrow and deep-felt yearning, epiphanies overturning gloom and remaking the world into something new and beautiful, touches of lightness and humour, all these will be met with here

While most of the characters you'll meet in these pages are far from perfect, and, with all their anxieties, foibles and frailties, a world away from being heroic, they are recognisably human. What they lack in polish or perfection they more than abundantly make up for in inconspicuous generosity and modesty, much too often under-appreciated for the ramifications these quieter graces have on those around them. This is a collection of stories of varying tonalities, spanning an emotional range comprising anything from the gentle 'My Uncle Dom' to the light and playful 'Reversal', the humorous and, at times, outrageously farcical 'Dimblewit' to the absurd, even grotesque 'The Bookworm', and again, the dark and disturbing 'The Visitation'. Two pieces among this collection of seven stories, 'Artist' and 'A Brass Razoo', present us with portraits particularly Australian.

George Genovese was born in Malta in 1962 and immigrated to Australia in 1967. In 1985 he graduated from La Trobe University with a major in philosophy. He has since read his poetry at various venues in Victoria. He has previously published one volume of poetry, Heartlines, with the assistance of the Council of Adult Education, and has written for the Education supplement of The Age. In 2002 he collaborated with Australian composer, Lawrence Whiffin, in the setting of one of his poems for the Astra Chamber Music Ensemble's fiftieth anniversary. In 2004 he again teamed up with Lawrence Whiffin to produce an extended narrative poem for the Camp Street poetry festival. He currently lives and works in Melbourne.

Desire in its multifariously limpid and obscure manifestations is one of the salient themes that informs many of the poems in this collection, from the way it is experienced in its recognisably subjective forms as longing, love or intention, to the more challenging notion of its expression as artefact the objective creations of daily use such as cups, tables, books and money. Consonant with this notion is the way language allies itself with it to make it actual this book you are holding and its contents being an instance of that for if our daily artefacts are the echoes of its subterranean making, then surely language as the maker's first and foremost tool of creative ingenuity, and not just human ingenuity, must be its very flesh.

Many in baseball consider the scout to be the most important figure in any organization. Few have achieved more than George Genovese. Genovese's eye for talent is unmatched, his advocacy for the players he discovers is unrivalled and the investment he makes toward their success is a difference maker. This autobiography is the story of his seven decades in baseball as a player, manager and scout.

Few would dispute the pitching greatness of Sandy Koufax--but was Paul Pettit better? Jim Baxes was once compared to the great Pie Traynor yet few baseball fans have ever heard of him. John Elway was undeniably one of the greatest quarterbacks in pro football history but could he have been an even better baseball player? For most fans greatness is measured in trophies and awards and confirmed by consistency over time. During his 70 years in baseball, renowned scout George Genovese witnessed some of the most talented players ever to play the game--some of them unknown to fans. He recalls the careers of unsung greats like Nestor Chavez, Matt Harrington and Derek Tatsuno, who never gained lasting fame despite unrivaled talent.