The Cactus League With Emily Nemens
April 22, 2020
Book Talk: The Cactus League, April 16, 2020
The French-American Foundation hosted a webinar with Emily Nemens, Editor of The Paris Review, to discuss her new book, The Cactus League. The event was moderated by Young Leader and author Karin Tanabe.
Receiving praise from a variety of reviews, Emily’s debut novel examines the sport and the relationships surrounding it:
There are probably more good novels about baseball than any other sport. More bad ones, too. Emily Nemens’s “The Cactus League” definitely belongs in that first lineup, though it’s unusual in at least two respects. The book is less a novel, really, than a series of very cleverly interlinked short stories. (There are nine, naturally, all set in Phoenix during the spring training — or Cactus League — season of 2011.) And very little ball actually gets played in them. Nemens’s real subject here is less the game of baseball itself, though she’s quite good at describing it, than its infrastructure, all the lives that professional baseball embraces…” A Winning Baseball Novel by the Editor of The Paris Review, The New York Times
The discussion between both authors explored the research for the novel, the inspiration behind its creation, Emily’s personal relationship to the sport, and more as she answered questions from Karin and the audience.
The French-American Foundation developed this webinar initiative to continue our mission of encouraging transatlantic dialogue while prioritizing the health and safety of our community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our webinars take place throughout the month.