From the Colosseum of Rome to Wrigley Field and Madison Square Garden, iconic sports venues are larger than life. They often exist in a seemingly "sacred" space, outside the hustle and bustle of the everyday. At their most basic level, iconic sports venues are revered and idolized. They emanate a sense of persuasion that contributes to how they become meaningful for those who come into contact with them. This book examines how and why iconic sports venues acquire meaning. Looking at different venues, chapters address how the material features of a site participate in the construction of messages and meanings, and how they influence those messages and meanings. Each chapter includes a description of the venue in question; an interpretation of its mystique; and a discussion of the implications of the interpretation. A unique and timely contribution to the fields of composition, persuasion, sport management, sport rhetoric, and communication, the goal of this book is to inspire more scholarly research, essays, and projects focused on the persuasive qualities of sports venues. More broadly, scholars, students, and professionals can use the chapters in this book as models for investigating "iconic" structures both locally and globally.

From the Colosseum of Rome to Wrigley Field and Madison Square Garden, iconic sports venues are larger than life. They often exist in a seemingly "sacred" space, outside the hustle and bustle of the everyday. At their most basic level, iconic sports venues are revered and idolized. They emanate a sense of persuasion that contributes to how they become meaningful for those who come into contact with them. This book examines how and why iconic sports venues acquire meaning. Looking at different venues, chapters address how the material features of a site participate in the construction of messages and meanings, and how they influence those messages and meanings. Each chapter includes a description of the venue in question; an interpretation of its mystique; and a discussion of the implications of the interpretation. A unique and timely contribution to the fields of composition, persuasion, sport management, sport rhetoric, and communication, the goal of this book is to inspire more scholarly research, essays, and projects focused on the persuasive qualities of sports venues. More broadly, scholars, students, and professionals can use the chapters in this book as models for investigating "iconic" structures both locally and globally.

Poetic Healing is about a Vietnam Veteran's pain and the healing power of words. Basil B. Clark's sense of order was disrupted after an ambush in Vietnam that resulted in the constant ringing in the ears known as tinnitus. Clark had to accept such pain as the norm to help himself recover meaning and regain a sense of order. His plays and poems function as equipment for living and include dynamic conversations among imaginary family members, friends, and divine agents. Clark's plays and poems are supplemented by the critical commentary of Mark E. Huglen, who offers insight into the five phases of poetic healing. He draws upon the teachings of renowned scholar Kenneth Burke, particularly his terms for order, orientation, realms for words, and perspective by incongruity, bringing Burke closer to intrapersonal and interpersonal communication as well as to the study of suicide. Bernard Brock's Afterword describes how Clark manages to heal not just with his words and symbolism, but through them. Poetic Healing tells the story of the word's power to transform pain, loss, and even desperation into their counterparts, a poetic journey that will uplift and inspire.