The Basketball Article

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The cover, with a large black-and-white photograph of a male basketball player seen in profile; in the background, a woman looks directly at the camera.

In April 1975, Bernadette Mayer and Anne Waldman wrote this never-published article for Oui magazine, an subsidiary of Playboy. Ostensibly about the New York Nets, The Basketball Article blends madcap commentary on basketball with critiques of nationalism, capitalism, women’s roles, and racism—and it even offers directions for a basketball-style competition for poets. In an introductory note Mayer writes, “It was rejected by a group of editors a few of whom thought it ‘was a minor masterpiece,’ the others ‘couldn’t tell what the hell was going on’ in it.” This copy is part of the first edition of 100 copies.

Bernadette Mayer and Anne Waldman. The Basketball Article. New York: Angel Hair Books, ca. 1975.

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An introductory note written by Bernadette Mayer.

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The first page, which describes being at the New York Nets games.

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An interior page that describes the music played at the basketball games and the reactions of the crowd.

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An interior page describing a poetry competition structured like a basketball game.

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An interior page describing playing recreational basketball in New York as a woman.