Eleanor Boudreau: Pressing Words

Shall I Compare Thee

Eleanor Boudreau — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 23:41:03 +0000

Every few years the National Endowment for the Arts measures how much literature we’re reading. In 2008, for the first time in 25 years, the number of Americans reading literature went up. But this new interest is entirely due to more people reading fiction. The number of Americans reading poetry has actually declined. There is a stereotype that all poets are crazy, and historically some of them have been. But slaving away at a discipline few people seem to care about can seem a little, well, insane. Eleanor Boudreau spoke with one poet to see what makes him do it.

Nor Shall Death Brag Thou Wanderest in His Shade

Eleanor Boudreau — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 23:36:06 +0000

Poetry reading may be declining, but the popularity of performance poetry, or “spoken word,” is on the rise. Every Friday night for almost 30 years, people have crowded into the Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe on East 3rd Street in Manhattan. They stand in line, or they stand through the show. There is rarely enough room to seat everyone. Eleanor Boudreau braved January temperatures and sore feet to bring us this report.

When in Eternal Lines to Time Thou Growest: Teaching Poetry in NYC

Eleanor Boudreau — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:21:21 +0000

A National Endowment for the Arts Study shows poetry reading declining across the country, even as Americans are reading more and more fiction. If poetry is going to survive then young people have to read it, and write it. Eleanor Boudreau visited one public high school in Brooklyn to see what students are taught when they’re taught poetry.

Fare Hikes are Coming!

Eleanor Boudreau — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:58:08 +0000

The Metropolitan Transit Authority is facing a 1.4 billion dollar deficit next year. It’s looking to make up some of that money by raising fares, and it has got some very vociferous opposition. But, as Eleanor Boudreau reports, there is a positive side to fare hikes.

There are 660 miles of subway track in New York City, laid end to end that much track would reach from upper Manhattan to Indianapolis, Indiana.

There’s More!

Eleanor Boudreau — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:50:58 +0000

Make sure you check out the Extension!

Click “LATEST” or “The other ‘ism’” under Links in the bottom, right corner.

Or click here:

http://eleanorboudreau1.wordpress.com

Veins Bulge

Eleanor Boudreau — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:16:09 +0000

November 13, 2008—Veins bulge. Nothing else moves. The physical exertion is immense, the indicators minute. Suddenly one hand forces another to the table. The crowd is going wild. One of the longest arm wrestling matches of the tournament is over. “Good match!” yells tournament director Dan Fortuna. It lasted 20 seconds.

Held in the north wing of the Port Authority bus terminal the Golden Arm Tournament of Champions is barely above ground. The 40 competitors are a small but dedicated band. They hail from as far away as Russia, Uzbekistan, and Jamaica. Two of them are women.

The crowd is 200 strong, but it is mostly competitors, their friends and family. There are a few accidental spectators who stopped on their way somewhere else. Arm wrestling is one of the oldest sports ever. It is played in every high school and middle school, but at the upper levels it can be risky.

Arm wrestlers break wrists and they break arms. They pull tendons. The tournament starts with Fortuna giving the amateurs a safety talk. But even if nothing snaps, arm wrestling is still excruciating.

“The pain is really, really bad,” Sean Sparandero, who works as a nurse and also competes weightlifting, said, “it’s a deep muscle soreness.” What Sparandero enjoys is the thrill of competition. “There’s a lot of testosterone in here,” he said.

When it comes time to compete, wrestlers stand at one of two tables on a raised stage. They place their elbows on pads at the center of the table, agree on a type of grip, and lock hands. Two referees judge each match and try to keep the competitors from hurting each other.

Fortuna is calling for a female volunteer, “We need one lady to fill the class.” A woman wearing a long leather coat and leather boots, and holding a designer handbag, (also leather), climbs two of the six steps up to the stage. Her handbag has a metal buckle worthy of a cowboy at its center. Her boots would be intimidating if they weren’t so impractical. She looks unsure, but she’s the only one to come this far. She is promptly whisked away to sign a release form.

One of the most dangerous competitors is Travis Bagent. Bagent is a World Champion. He is one of the largest guys in the competition but says size and strength have nothing to do with it. “I’m a one-hundred percent technique,” he says. Then, as if to prove it, in his first match-up he beats one of the few competitors bigger than he is. Bagent’s father arm wrestled and taught Bagent starting at age three. “You see, I’ve got no bad habits from birth,” Bagent said.

What was once a family affair is now all about money. Bagent drove three hours from Washington D.C. to compete in the Golden Arms Tournament because he figured he could pick up some cash. If Bagent wins all the categories he is entered in—which is likely—he will walk away with more than $2,100.

Bagent is one of the few arm wrestlers able to make a living off his sport. He makes $100,000 to $150,000 a year arm wrestling. He has been on ESPN and David Letterman, and is featured in a Discovery Channel Series called Superhuman Superstrong. It’s not enough for Bagent. Bagent is frustrated because he feels his income has reached an inescapable plateau.

Most athletes are sponsored by companies that make sporting goods, but with arm wrestling, “There is no product for the big sponsor,” Bagent says. Bowling gets more sponsors than arm wrestling because bowling requires shoes, balls, and gloves.

The Golden Arm Tournament did manage to scrounge sponsors, but they seem a haphazard crew: White Castle, Supercuts, NewYork.com, and Captains of Crush (Captains manufactures a hand-gripper). The representatives of Supercuts say the idea to sponsor the event came out of left field. They weren’t even aware arm wrestling was a sport, but they decided to go with it. “Think outside the box,” Salvatore Circelli, who works for Supercuts, said. Once they arrived at the Port Authority and started passing out coupons for free haircuts it all seemed to make sense.

“There are a lot of males here,” Michele Feiertag, also with Supercuts, said, “Sixty-five percent of our customers are male.”

I tap out.