Chicago Cubs Author Interview - Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting Till Next Year
The drought continues. Donald Evans has edited together quite a collection of writings related to the Cubbie Blues, following the
Cubs on their endless journey to a World Series championship. Donald collects essays, articles, songs, and much more from
Cubs fans who demonstrated through their writings, a connection to the Cubs and their history. View the interview with
the editor of Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting Till Next Year, Donald Evans, below.
What gave you the idea for the book?
Donald Evans - I don’t suppose the idea for the book is all that unique — the Cubs and especially their 100-year drought are well-covered ground. What I had was a unique vision for us fans to explore our relationship to the Cubs, using the drought as a unifying theme.
It was the start of the 2008 season and everything seemed great, and I let myself believe, as I have many times before, that this really was The Year. There was such anticipation and excitement—almost that same sense of inevitability there was with the ’85 Bears and the 1990-91 Bulls.
The Cubs have always been a part of the fabric of my life, especially in the summer, and this intense period in their history made me wonder what it meant to have unconditional love for a team that basically never wins. I wanted the book, finally, to be a carnival of Cubs, encompassing the humor, the heartbreak, and everything in between that is part of our history. That is what I had in mind as I set out.
How long did it take you to compile all the stories and essays?
Donald Evans - I started soliciting work for the book around late May of last year. It was a sort of uneasy process, because the whole while I was compiling material, the city was anticipating, maybe even expecting, its end. In other words, I was working very hard on a book that might be obsolete before it was ever published. (I won my bet, but many artists lost theirs. See: the Chicago Tribune’s This Is The Year.) I was still editing the book in late October. So: six months.
In a traditional anthology, an editor reads through a body of literature on a given theme, picks what he or she considers the best of the best, and then tracks down the authors for reprint rights. In contrast, a lot of the work in this book was original. I identified and approached authors that met two criteria 1. Very good writers, 2. Cub fans. Then I asked them to contribute something to the book. That, along with offering feedback and requesting rewrites, comprised part of the work.
There was also the work of compiling lists and trivia, and writing tributes to notable Cub literary figures. Then there was filling in the gaps with existing material. Finally, there were all the rounds of proofing, which I accomplished with the help of Randy Richardson and Jay Raemont as sub-editors, and the expert help of contributors like Robert Goldsborough, Stuart Shea, Mary Beth Hoerner and James Finn Garner. It was a lot more work than I’d originally estimated, especially putting together all the lists.
Some of the stories and essays are from broadcasters and writers, but some are from regular Cubs fans. How did you find the right mix?
Donald Evans - Well, I wanted to get an interesting mixture of articulate voices, and I wanted to cover the expanse of the 100 years, and I wanted variety of form. I thought that the individual pieces would fit together best if the tone and length and style rose and fell like a roller coaster.
A lot of the material came about through a reading series I ran last summer at El Jardin. It was called, The Lovable Losers Literary Revue, and many of the book’s contributors first produced material for that series.
At the same time, I was emailing writers whose work and bio matched my criteria. For example, I had read and greatly admired D.C. Brod’s “My Heroes Have Always Been Shortstops” and asked her if she could produce a new Cub story for the anthology. Once I’d accepted a few pieces, my criteria became more specific. In other words, once I knew what we had, I identified what we didn’t have, and went about trying to complete my vision.
Randy provided lots of suggestions. For example, he suggested a Shoe comic and wondered if we could get the reprint rights. Ultimately, two Shoe comics wound up as bookends to the anthology. Jay made other suggestions. (Randy and Jay indeed helped shape the book.) And the early contributors helped me find other contributors. Jonathan Eig read at one of the El Jardin events, and Jim Garner came out to hear him perform. That led to Jim’s contributions. Through Jim, I also found Stu and Thomas Dyja, two other important contributors. Julia Borcherts recommended Mary Beth Hoerner. Don DeGrazia recommended Bill Hillmann. But all the while I kept in mind what was missing, and for that reason I waited until the very end for Rick Kogan to produce a toast that I knew we would use at the beginning of the book.
How were you able to gather these stories from fans?
Donald Evans - For the most part, I interviewed the subjects, took notes, and then fashioned the notes into snappy quotes that fit into the theme of the book. Margie Lawrence, who knows a lot of the Wrigleyville lifers, took me around the park and introduced me to some of the subjects. She gave me phone numbers to track down others. Dave Hoekstra, another Wrigley Field lifer and also, of course, a journalist, shared some of his contacts. Moe Mullins and Rich Burhke (veteran ballhawkers) and Dave Cihla (Shawon-O-Meter co-inventor) participated in the El Jardin series.
Some subjects were people I’d seen at the ballpark over and over, and thought, “How can I track him down?” I wanted to hear from well-entrenched fans, and so, again, as I secured some stories I tried to imagine stories that would complete the portrait. I wanted to hear from one of the longtime scalpers, but couldn’t get one to go on record, and I regret not having thought earlier of Richard Savage, a 101-year-old fan. But with the interviews I did complete, I overwhelming found the subjects to be articulate, funny and passionate.
What is your favorite part of the book?
Donald Evans - I think there’s so many good pieces (as well as artwork) and they’re so different that it would be a little like picking your favorite child. I suppose I’m most proud of the way Mary Beth Hoerner’s essay turned out. When I first saw the essay, I thought it was very good, but could be even better with a few tweaks. I gave Mary Beth a few suggestions, and she returned a revision that was nearly perfect. (Influenced, I should say, only marginally by my notes.) I loved the artwork we got from her fanatical Cub fan sister (featured in the essay), and the book designer, Roberta Richardson, did a fantastic job making a collage out of the photographs that fit nicely with the prose. It was a piece perfectly on theme (the 1969 Cubs—one of those magically depressing seasons) and everything came together in absolute harmony. That’s not to say it was the best piece of writing.
There are so many fantastic pieces that are incomparable in form and style that those sorts of judgments are, as I said, impossible. But it’s the one that stands out as best executed.
How long do you think the Cubbie Blues will continue?
Donald Evans - I think it will either end this season or next—with the core of this current team—or continue at least another decade. Soriano, Lee, Ramirez, Zambrano: these guys will all be WAY over paid as they become older players and their contributions to the team diminish. Thus, the payroll will be stacked with fading players (the result of giving really long-term deals to players already in their primes), and I don’t think even a rich franchise like the Cubs can afford to carry all those seven-figure salaries and still pay the talent they need to compete at the highest level. It will be rebuilding without the price break.
What are your predictions for the 2009 season?
Donald Evans - I think the Cubs will win the National League pennant and lose in the World Series. This is a very good but flawed team that is a few good breaks (or player acquisitions) away from being great and a few bad breaks away from being merely good. There are a lot of teams like that.
This team is a lot more fragile than most people think: Mike Fontenot still has to prove himself as a regular contributor (Mark DeRosa was my MVP pick last year), Zambrano has to prove he’s a true ace (as compared to a #2 starter with ace stuff), Rich Harden and Milton Bradley probably have to be more than half-time players, Geovany Soto’s shoulder injury is potential trouble, Kevin Gregg has to be optimally good and healthy.
Lots can go wrong. But on balance I don’t see anybody better in the National League, though the Phillies and Dodgers are right there, and I fear Florida will make a miracle, low-budget, out-of-nowhere run, ala 1997 and 2003. There are three or four better teams in the American League, all in the East division.
CBB thanks Donald Evans and and appreciates his time. Purchase Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting Till Next Year
now!
What gave you the idea for the book?
Donald Evans - I don’t suppose the idea for the book is all that unique — the Cubs and especially their 100-year drought are well-covered ground. What I had was a unique vision for us fans to explore our relationship to the Cubs, using the drought as a unifying theme.
It was the start of the 2008 season and everything seemed great, and I let myself believe, as I have many times before, that this really was The Year. There was such anticipation and excitement—almost that same sense of inevitability there was with the ’85 Bears and the 1990-91 Bulls.
The Cubs have always been a part of the fabric of my life, especially in the summer, and this intense period in their history made me wonder what it meant to have unconditional love for a team that basically never wins. I wanted the book, finally, to be a carnival of Cubs, encompassing the humor, the heartbreak, and everything in between that is part of our history. That is what I had in mind as I set out.
How long did it take you to compile all the stories and essays?
Donald Evans - I started soliciting work for the book around late May of last year. It was a sort of uneasy process, because the whole while I was compiling material, the city was anticipating, maybe even expecting, its end. In other words, I was working very hard on a book that might be obsolete before it was ever published. (I won my bet, but many artists lost theirs. See: the Chicago Tribune’s This Is The Year.) I was still editing the book in late October. So: six months.
In a traditional anthology, an editor reads through a body of literature on a given theme, picks what he or she considers the best of the best, and then tracks down the authors for reprint rights. In contrast, a lot of the work in this book was original. I identified and approached authors that met two criteria 1. Very good writers, 2. Cub fans. Then I asked them to contribute something to the book. That, along with offering feedback and requesting rewrites, comprised part of the work.
There was also the work of compiling lists and trivia, and writing tributes to notable Cub literary figures. Then there was filling in the gaps with existing material. Finally, there were all the rounds of proofing, which I accomplished with the help of Randy Richardson and Jay Raemont as sub-editors, and the expert help of contributors like Robert Goldsborough, Stuart Shea, Mary Beth Hoerner and James Finn Garner. It was a lot more work than I’d originally estimated, especially putting together all the lists.
Some of the stories and essays are from broadcasters and writers, but some are from regular Cubs fans. How did you find the right mix?
Donald Evans - Well, I wanted to get an interesting mixture of articulate voices, and I wanted to cover the expanse of the 100 years, and I wanted variety of form. I thought that the individual pieces would fit together best if the tone and length and style rose and fell like a roller coaster.
A lot of the material came about through a reading series I ran last summer at El Jardin. It was called, The Lovable Losers Literary Revue, and many of the book’s contributors first produced material for that series.
At the same time, I was emailing writers whose work and bio matched my criteria. For example, I had read and greatly admired D.C. Brod’s “My Heroes Have Always Been Shortstops” and asked her if she could produce a new Cub story for the anthology. Once I’d accepted a few pieces, my criteria became more specific. In other words, once I knew what we had, I identified what we didn’t have, and went about trying to complete my vision.
Randy provided lots of suggestions. For example, he suggested a Shoe comic and wondered if we could get the reprint rights. Ultimately, two Shoe comics wound up as bookends to the anthology. Jay made other suggestions. (Randy and Jay indeed helped shape the book.) And the early contributors helped me find other contributors. Jonathan Eig read at one of the El Jardin events, and Jim Garner came out to hear him perform. That led to Jim’s contributions. Through Jim, I also found Stu and Thomas Dyja, two other important contributors. Julia Borcherts recommended Mary Beth Hoerner. Don DeGrazia recommended Bill Hillmann. But all the while I kept in mind what was missing, and for that reason I waited until the very end for Rick Kogan to produce a toast that I knew we would use at the beginning of the book.
How were you able to gather these stories from fans?
Donald Evans - For the most part, I interviewed the subjects, took notes, and then fashioned the notes into snappy quotes that fit into the theme of the book. Margie Lawrence, who knows a lot of the Wrigleyville lifers, took me around the park and introduced me to some of the subjects. She gave me phone numbers to track down others. Dave Hoekstra, another Wrigley Field lifer and also, of course, a journalist, shared some of his contacts. Moe Mullins and Rich Burhke (veteran ballhawkers) and Dave Cihla (Shawon-O-Meter co-inventor) participated in the El Jardin series.
Some subjects were people I’d seen at the ballpark over and over, and thought, “How can I track him down?” I wanted to hear from well-entrenched fans, and so, again, as I secured some stories I tried to imagine stories that would complete the portrait. I wanted to hear from one of the longtime scalpers, but couldn’t get one to go on record, and I regret not having thought earlier of Richard Savage, a 101-year-old fan. But with the interviews I did complete, I overwhelming found the subjects to be articulate, funny and passionate.
What is your favorite part of the book?
Donald Evans - I think there’s so many good pieces (as well as artwork) and they’re so different that it would be a little like picking your favorite child. I suppose I’m most proud of the way Mary Beth Hoerner’s essay turned out. When I first saw the essay, I thought it was very good, but could be even better with a few tweaks. I gave Mary Beth a few suggestions, and she returned a revision that was nearly perfect. (Influenced, I should say, only marginally by my notes.) I loved the artwork we got from her fanatical Cub fan sister (featured in the essay), and the book designer, Roberta Richardson, did a fantastic job making a collage out of the photographs that fit nicely with the prose. It was a piece perfectly on theme (the 1969 Cubs—one of those magically depressing seasons) and everything came together in absolute harmony. That’s not to say it was the best piece of writing.
There are so many fantastic pieces that are incomparable in form and style that those sorts of judgments are, as I said, impossible. But it’s the one that stands out as best executed.
How long do you think the Cubbie Blues will continue?
Donald Evans - I think it will either end this season or next—with the core of this current team—or continue at least another decade. Soriano, Lee, Ramirez, Zambrano: these guys will all be WAY over paid as they become older players and their contributions to the team diminish. Thus, the payroll will be stacked with fading players (the result of giving really long-term deals to players already in their primes), and I don’t think even a rich franchise like the Cubs can afford to carry all those seven-figure salaries and still pay the talent they need to compete at the highest level. It will be rebuilding without the price break.
What are your predictions for the 2009 season?
Donald Evans - I think the Cubs will win the National League pennant and lose in the World Series. This is a very good but flawed team that is a few good breaks (or player acquisitions) away from being great and a few bad breaks away from being merely good. There are a lot of teams like that.
This team is a lot more fragile than most people think: Mike Fontenot still has to prove himself as a regular contributor (Mark DeRosa was my MVP pick last year), Zambrano has to prove he’s a true ace (as compared to a #2 starter with ace stuff), Rich Harden and Milton Bradley probably have to be more than half-time players, Geovany Soto’s shoulder injury is potential trouble, Kevin Gregg has to be optimally good and healthy.
Lots can go wrong. But on balance I don’t see anybody better in the National League, though the Phillies and Dodgers are right there, and I fear Florida will make a miracle, low-budget, out-of-nowhere run, ala 1997 and 2003. There are three or four better teams in the American League, all in the East division.
CBB thanks Donald Evans and and appreciates his time. Purchase Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting Till Next Year
now!
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