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Joyce Carol Oates, On Boxing (1987) Selections from this essay appeared in the June 1985 issue of New York Times Magazine and the Fall/Winter edition of the Ontario Review. In a slim volume expanded from a New York Times Magazine article, Oates describes the young, male world of boxing in America. Using a nostalgic, often autobiographical voice, the author presents each boxing match as a story: "a wayward one in which everything can happen ... a story without words" (p 8-11). Oates elaborates on the intimacy and fanaticism of boxing fans, including herself and her father, and parallels the boxing experience to the experience of black men in America (p 65). She details the power behind a boxer—part reflex, part heart—and describes the crude setting of the ring and the crucial role of the audience during a match. Drawing from legendary boxers (Sugar Ray, The Little Killer, The Butterfly) Oates writes concisely about the evolution of boxing, dating back to gladiatorial combat and England's first bare-knuckle fights. The author breaks down the system—the money, the opponents and the referee—and describes why writers are drawn to it: to define, celebrate and complete the wordless spectacle. From The New York Times: "'On Boxing' is better than its subject. Ms. Oates is truer to the sport than most boxers are . . . If it is too coarse a verdict to call 'On Boxing' a knockout, Ms. Oates has certainly scored a stunning TKO, or technical victory." MORE: Amazon (synopsis and reviews) Joyce Carol Oates/On Boxing web site, featuring list of reviews and an excerpt New York Times review of On Boxing and other books by the author |
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