June 29, 2001

Up Against Pain and Loss, a Poet Goes One-on-One With a God

By ZOE INGALLS

The poet Alan Shapiro is singing the praises of his first love.

"Basketball," he says, "is just such a beautiful game." He's already played pickup for a couple of hours before stopping for lunch to discuss his latest book of poetry, The Dead Alive and Busy. As he talks, patches of sweat mottle his sand-colored shirt. He drinks glass after glass of lemonade.

Basketball, played well, strikes a "wonderful balance between structure and improvisation, between rules and creativity,"

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