Writers often are embarrassed by their early work; they cringe at their rough edges, their lack of polish, & wish they could take it back and rewrite it, or disown it, bury it. But of everything I’ve written, I think I’m fondest of my first published piece, “Seventh Inning Stretch,” flaws and all. Maybe because it encompasses much of what I hold dear. And checking early memories with my brother brought us closer than we’ve ever been–that alone makes it special.
So I was delighted when Stymie, an online journal that focuses on sports in literature, asked to republish it. Here it is, “Seventh Inning Stretch” in its second incarnation, not really a double header, but I had to come up with a baseball analogy.
Alice Lowe -- still writing 