Themes for English B: A Professor's Education in and Out of Class

If ever a book should be required reading for middle-aged, basketball-playing, poetry-writing, underprepared-student-teaching folks, then that book is Themes for English B by J.D. Scrimgeour. As a reader, I happen to fall into that limited demographic, but this book far transcends such a small pool of potential readers. Scrimgeour's unadorned but note-perfect prose dances through a range of subjects beyond poetry, teaching, and basketball to weave a collection of memoir essays united by the tread of thoughtful reflection on human experience--both his own and the people around him, his students, teachers, family members, friends, and teammates. This book is highly recommended for readers with an interest in education, poetry, basketball, and life in general.

Scrimgeour writes not just about teaching, but about life. He has grasped the deep truth that what matters in everything -- in reading, teaching, baseball and basketball, choosing a place to live -- is how you connect with other people, and how you affect them. These are simple descriptions of simple, everyday events, but the clarity and honesty of his observations shine through on every page. Very worthwhile.

He says about college teaching what I wish I had said before him, but he says it better. He reminds us of why books matter. Very honest stuff, lyrical and -- at times - funny.