“Karen Kovacik’s poems are strong, distinctive and thoroughly wonderful works. Her personal poems such as ‘Watching My Father Pray’ make use of autobiographical detail in a way that is never insular or hermetic. And her Richard Nixon persona poems are stunning, brave, and original. American poetry, and American writing in general, tends to be sadly ahistorical, and the way these poems take on one of history’s most loved and hated figures, giving him voice and making him human, is truly impressive. Nixon and I is an amazing debut.”—Jesse Lee Kercheval

Samuel Shem’s The House of God is widely regarded as one of the most influential novels about medical education in the twentieth century. Decades after being published, this satire still raises issues of how interns and residents are trained and how patients experience their treatment. Return to The House of God is a scholarly and creative response to the best-selling novel, exploring its impact on medical education, residency training, and the field of literature and medicine.

Some of the world’s greatest literature is devoted to expressing the joys and sorrows humans experience as they grow old. New opportunities and challenges appear: retirement, a special closeness with the family, failing health, the recognition of personal mortality, prejudice against the elderly, and grief over the losses of loved ones and places. This collection of more than 60 short stories, poems, and plays addresses these issues primarily through the works of modern American writers, including Bernard Malamud, Eudora Welty, Saul Bellow, Edward Albee, Robert Frost, Denise Levertov, William Carlos Williams, Ernest Hemingway, Alice Walker, Kurt Vonnegut, and others. The selections represent the experience of aging from the perspective of persons of diverse color, ethnicity, and background, and are complemented by illustrator Elizabeth Layton’s wry and perceptive prints.

Sundays in the Pound traces quarterback Bernie Kosar’s winding path from Youngstown to Florida to Cleveland, explains why there was so much more to running back Earnest Byner than one unforgotten fumble, and reveals how cornerback Hanford Dixon created a canine phenomenon in the endzone stands that has persevered to this day. Author Jonathan Knight delves into “the Drive” and “the Fumble”; examines the fairy-tale performance of an aging veteran quarterback who directed the Browns through the snow and into the playoffs in his final game at the old, cavernous Cleveland Stadium on Lake Erie’s shoreline; and recounts an epic playoffs saga in which the Browns staged one of the greatest comebacks in the history of Cleveland sports.

Opening Day is sportswriter Jonathan Knight’s inning-by-inning look at the opening game at Jacobs Field on April 4, 1994. New home to the Cleveland Indians, “The Jake” was for fans symbolic of the team’s turnaround. For the regional community this ballpark marked the beginning of Cleveland’s long-awaited renaissance. Author Jonathan Knight skillfully recaptures memorable moments from opening days of the past, creating this story that shows how the fortunes of the team and the city converged. On that day in early April, the Indians and the City of Cleveland together experienced a true opening day—one in which the past was forgotten and the future was clear and bright.

In Kardiac Kids Jonathan Knight paints a portrait of the Browns’ storybook 1980 season and its impact on the city of Cleveland. Knight takes us through that unforgettable year from beginning to end, describing in great detail how the city simply fell in love with this team. Though the Cleveland Browns boast four world championships and possess a rich and respected past, the magical 1980 season was clearly the most memorable in team history. Kardiac Kids is a tribute to that team.

Classic Tribe counts down the fifty greatest Cleveland Indians games, from wild ninth-inning comebacks to dazzling pitching performances to spellbinding playoff encounters. The storied history of Cleveland’s endearing baseball franchise is sprinkled throughout these tales, from weekday matinees at cozy League Park at the dawn of the twentieth century to unforgettable autumn nights at Jacobs Field.

Classic Cavs counts down the fifty greatest Cleveland Cavaliers games, from their 67-loss inaugural NBA season in 1970–71 through their record-breaking 66-win campaign in 2008–9. The rich, four-decade history of the Cavs is woven into these tales, tying together the early games at rickety old Cleveland Arena, the incredible highs and heartbreaking lows played out at Richfield Coliseum, and the fierce battles waged at the “Q.”

The Bicentennial Edition of Ohio and Its People is a revised and updated volume of this bestselling work and includes a new final chapter examining Ohio through the end of the twentieth century. Author George W. Knepper presents contemporary information on the national and state political arenas, the economy as it affects Ohio, the economic and environmental revival of Cleveland, and an updated bibliography. Ohio and Its People remains a wonderful classroom text and history of Ohio.

“Mindi Kirchner possesses an unblinking honesty and wit that is at once enchanting and heartbreaking. Her agile, beautifully crafted poems address the disappointments and sorrows of our uncrafted, ordinary lives and the painful distance between reality and imagination. She celebrates the joy in spite of, not because of, what is. Like a Buddhist she wishes for no other life, no reincarnation. And yet, as her reader, I can’t wait to see more, more lives, or at least many more books, from this talented new voice.”—Nin Andrews