Brooklyn August is a poem by Stephen King that first appeared in 1971 in Io magazine and was later collected in King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes in 1993. It also pairs with another story in that collection, "Head Down."

Synopsis

The poem is reflective in tone, a nostalgic look back at what many consider to be the glory days of baseball as America's national pastime, focusing on the heyday of the Los Angeles Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

 in their days as the Brooklyn Dodgers under the management of Walter Alston

Walter Alston

Walter Emmons Alston , nicknamed "Smokey," was an American baseball player and manager. He was born in Venice, Ohio but grew up in Darrtown. He is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he lettered three years in both basketball and baseball and is a member of the University's Hall...

. The poems title reflects the tone of the poem, as it describes the team's 1956 heyday at their Ebbets Field

Ebbets Field

Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball park located in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York, USA, on a city block which is now considered to be part of the Crown Heights neighborhood. It was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. It was also a venue for professional football...

ground, now long since demolished. The poem mentions many of the players associated with the club, celebrating their accomplishments and ends on a wistful note, that the writer can still see it if he closes his eyes, again bringing in the main theme of the poem, of a golden age past.