CHICAGO — It’s rare for those who love basketball to embrace the sport’s inherent romance. But in his latest book, author Hanif Abdurraqib hopes to explore an often untouched side of basketball.
The New York Times bestselling author’s sixth book, There’s Always This Year: About Basketball and Ascension, is a reflection on ascension and descent, a study of what it means to love, leave, and return to a place. Yes, this is a book about basketball, too.
“I was trying to write a book that I had never seen before,” Abdulraqib told the Chicago Tribune after speaking with poet Eve Ewing at the Newbery Library. “For most of my life, I rooted for a really bad basketball team. You’re driven by emotion when nothing else is going on. That’s what it’s like to be a sports fan – when nothing else is motivating you , sometimes driven by these wild emotions. … So I almost have to pursue the craziest version of my love for basketball in my mind to sustain me, to fill what I can’t accomplish with my abilities. blank.”
Abdulrajib is a native of Columbus, Ohio, and his study of basketball is ingrained in local royalty. The book begins as a rambling account of LeBron James, a native of Akron, Ohio, and his love for his hometown and the community that raised, revered and revered him. The idea came to encapsulate Abdulazib’s relationship with basketball, and how it left a legacy for the many figures in Abdulazib’s life, from his father to James to the people who played across the street from his childhood home ’s community legend who dominated basketball in his elementary school.
Throughout the book, Abdulrajib works to condense these great legacies into something small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Michael Jordan is one of those figures whose legacy often appears larger than life.
“We love MJ,” Abdullahjib wrote in the closing pages of “This Is Always the Year.” “But we have Michael Jordan on our block. Michael Jordan walks among us. Jordan’s house is four houses down and Jordan’s house is at the bus stop. If I haven’t made it clear enough, it all depends on who can escape from somewhere. , who couldn’t. Who survived and how.”
Abdullahjib has long since detached himself from the LeBron vs. Jordan debate—“There’s nothing more to say,” he laughs—and his book ignores the topic that has swallowed up so much modern NBA discussion. debate. But he was well aware that it was impossible to write about LeBron James without writing about Michael Jordan, as both defined and redefined the concept of greatness in the sport.
In this way, Jordan’s presence is often just off the page, his legacy reflected in his comparisons to those who taught Abdullahguib to love the game and the city in which he grew up.
“It all seems so far away to me,” Abdulrajib said. “But to have relationships with people in my neighborhood who feel like they’re above and beyond what’s expected of them — to me, these are people who are at least akin to Michael Jordan. … To me, it just seemed so amazing that I Just happen to be born in this place where I can look at people and say – even if this guy on this court is like the sixth man on the bench for their high school team, at this point on the court, they could be us Community’s version of Michael Jordan.”
This idea defines the focus of the book, even as it strays off the basketball court. Abdelaqib weaves the story of the Fab Five and Columbus High standout Kenny Gregory with intimate reminiscences of homeless life in Columbus and a nod to the Soul Children’s “Don’t Take My Sunshine” ” and other songs. To maintain control of this vast scope, Abdulrajib structured the book in the style of a basketball game, dividing it into pregame and four quarters, and using shot clock to emphasize his writing.
The result is a work that relies on trust in the reader to embrace the journey of the most intimate—and yes, romantic—of Abdallaguib’s writing career.
“In the current weeds of the movement, using the language of battle or war may be more fluorescent or energetic,” Abdulrajib said. “But actually, even if it’s not the language used, sport is a romantic pursuit. Sometimes I feel the most romantic towards the end of a game. Paying too much attention to your opponent is an act of caring. It’s giving of yourself and letting go. Get to know another person deeply yourself. “The pursuit of knowledge is an act of love. “
Abdulrajib was well aware that he was on the verge of a new kind of fame. Over the past seven years, his literary career has been on a meteoric rise—winner of a 2021 MacArthur “Genius Grant,” a National Book Award finalist, and the Andrew Carnegie Medal of Excellence for his last book, “American Little Devils.” In Columbus, Abdullahguib has become something of a local legend, and he’s featured on a mural commissioned by the library. But that status extends far beyond his hometown.
Last week’s event at the Newberry Library was the unofficial start of a comprehensive reading tour that began with two readings in Columbus on Monday. After the event, fans lined up in the longest hall of the library and waited patiently for more than an hour to get autographs and briefly chat with Abdullahjib.
It’s not the most comfortable environment for Abdurraqib, but if the spotlight gets brighter at any point in his career, he’ll be grateful he’s focused on “There’s Always This Year.”
“Sometimes it feels good when the ball leaves your hands,” Abdulrajib said. “I really feel like I achieved what I wanted. I feel like this book is very close to my dream. The fact that I’m walking into a dream with this book makes me feel very grounded. This book is kind of like Something fundamental because I actually dreamed it, and through my dreaming, I was able to do things I never thought possible.”
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