Celebrating Three Decades
Memory might fail me, but I believe we retrieved the first printed issues of Sport Literate from a Kinko’s on Michigan Avenue around St. Patrick’s Day in 1995. With a cover stock a little greener than anticipated, I didn’t realize we were publishing a ‘zine back then. Why would I? From that Magnificent Mile birthplace, we had big dreams for the publication that sold for $2.50.
Fast forward what sometimes seems like 100 years (not merely three decades), and we’re still swinging away with this small press publication. Something more than my father, our first cover model, could muster in a failed bunt attempt during his U.S. Army Air Corps days at the tail end of World War II.
To help celebrate our 30th anniversary, we’re inviting poets and writers to send us their honest reflections. No contest, no themes, we’re simply looking to honor our milestone in late spring or summer by publishing great work. The kind of work that has led to repeated accolades in a couple Best American anthologies over the years.
Of course, we could always use readers to go along with our contributors. Our two-issue subscription remains a bargain at $20. If you’re unfamiliar with the pub, you can take a test run for $12.95. I’d say we’ve got more than a few hidden gems in our current issue, but it’s all a bit under the radar in an increasingly virtual world where 240 characters can move mountains and rename oceans.
If muscle memory serves me, I spent a lot of time in Chicago bars when the Bulls were all the rage. Though we’re not trying to recreate that, we are planning a gathering over the last weekend in May at a still-to-be-determined watering hole. So if you’re in the neighborhood, we’ll let you know which one.
William Meiners
Sport Literate, Founding Editor