The selections in the new book were compiled by Nat Fleischer Award winners George Kimball and John Schulian, the co-editors of the forthcoming Library of America anthology AT THE FIGHTS: American Writers on Boxing, The full-color cover is the work of the distinguished artist Leroy Neiman, and the foreword was written by blues musician and Oscar-nominated composer Taj Mahal.
THE FIGHTER STILL REMAINS includes the work of award-winning poets Ishmael Reed, David Meltzer, Gerald Early, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, and Quincy Troupe, on subjects ranging from the sport s earliest days (Vachel Lindsay s John L. Sullivan, the Strongboy of Boston and Reed s Jack Johnson-referenced White Hope ) to the contemporary Fred Byrnes lament for the late Arturo Gatti, Too Soon.
The volume also presents the lyrics of a number of boxing-themed songs, including Paul Simon s The Boxer (from whence the book title was derived), Memphis Minnie s Joe Louis-era He s in the Ring, The Pull by novelist/musician Willy Vlautin, Texas-based songwriter Tom Russell s The Eyes of Roberto Duran and The Pugilist at 59, and Ready to Rumble Rag, a riff on boxing nicknames co-written by Kimball and legendary folksinger Tom Paxton.
As a unique feature, THE FIGHTER STILL REMAINS also includes Literary Snapshots prose snippets from the work of distinguished writers, most of whose work might not commonly be associated with boxing, including Pulitzer Prize winner Philip Roth, National Book Award winner Colum McCann, Elmore Leonard, Jack Kerouac, J.P. Donleavy, Pete Hamill, and Leonard Gardner.
