SOCCER QUEENS

Fast-footwork tributes to 13 female stars on the pitch and one breakthrough team.

In his afterword, Smith records efforts to make each of these poems suit its subject’s strengths or distinctive style of play, but whether the result is a rousing chant for “Automatic” Alex Morgan—“The Airbender / around-the-shoulder sender / penalty-kick-punching / game-winning / dream ender”—or a three-word acrostic using the letters of Mia Hamm’s first name, each entry is a rapid, staccato drive. The processed photographic illustrations, too, are all action, with the player’s uniform picked out in a punchy color that pops against the tonally muted background explosions and, often, hapless monochrome opponents. The hue used, though, is pink throughout (unlike the broader palette in Smith’s 2003 Hoop Queens)—a choice many may find clichéd along with his decision to praise Kelley O’Hara with a limerick “since she is of Irish heritage.” Coupled with his closing paean to the “ ’99ers” pursuit of the World Cup 24 years ago rather than, say, the 2019 triumph, this latest collection has a stale feel only partially alleviated by the fact that most of his chosen “queens” are still active. Most of his subjects are White; three are Black.

Gets the job done, but the author has done better.