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Leave a comment June 18, 2018 Writers Nexus

W. P. (Bill) Kinsella passed away at the age of 81 in 2016. He was an acclaimed Canadian novelist who wrote the baseball themed book Shoeless Joe.

Kinsella’s novel, went on to become the mega hit film Field of Dreams starring Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins and Ray Liotta.

OMG! I loved that movie. What a crush I had on Costner, although, it’s long gone.

Anyway… Kinsella’s book inspired several phrases, which have become wedged in both the Canadian and American lexicon.

Remember these phrases —“If you build it, they will come,” “Go the distance,” and even “Field of dreams”.

Kinsella loved baseball.

He also loved the movie “Field of Dreams” which his book inspired.

It was said he was on the edge of tears when he first saw the premiere of the movie.

While Kinsella is best known for his baseball fiction, he has a prolific output in many genres. This includes novels, short fiction collections, poetry, three baseball plays, and several works of non-fiction.

Kinsella Asked For An Assisted Death

Kinsella died with the help of a physician in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Doctor-assisted deaths became legal in Canada in June 2016. Details about his health were not disclosed.

A Few Quotes From W.P. Kinsella;

“Every story is about sex or death or sometimes both.”

“Baseball games are like snowflakes and fingerprints, no two are ever alike.”

“Hardly anybody recognizes the most significant moments of their life at the time they happen.”

“Syzygy, inexorable, pancreatic, phantasmagoria – anyone who can use those four words in one sentence will never have to do manual labor.”

“If I have a choice between looking something up and making it up, I’ll make it up every time.”