Andrew Forbes

The writer and novelist Andrew Forbes discusses his new collection Field Work: On Baseball and Making A Living (Assembly Press, 2025), with Joseph Planta.

Field Work: On Baseball and Making a Living by Andrew Forbes (Assembly Press, 2025). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Field Work

Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Andrew Forbes joins me now. He’s just published a new book, Field Work: On Baseball and Making a Living. It’s a great collection of essays on baseball that reflect not just the rich history of the sport, but look at how it works on a variety of levels from the Major and Minor leagues, to the Little League field that Mr. Forbes tends to as he coaches his kids season in and season out. The value of labour, not just on the field measured in statistics is observed in the book, but the idea of what’s work and what’s play, as the game itself is played is reflected upon, making for such a worthwhile read. We talk about money and gambling too. You don’t have to be a baseball fan to enjoy this collection, because there are some memorable, larger than life characters that also play a part through the stories in the book. Andrew Forbes is the author of two previous collections of baseball writing, The Utility of Boredom, and The Only Way Is the Steady Way. He’s also authored two short story collections, a novel, and a novella. Visit www.andrewgforbes.com for more. This new book is published by Assembly Press. We spoke nearly three weeks ago, with Andrew joining me from Peterborough, Ontario. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Andrew Forbes; Mr. Forbes, good morning.

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