Greiner, Donald J., The Other John Updike: Poems/Short Stories/Prose/Plays, Ohio University Press, 1981.

Greiner puts " The Slump" in the context of Updike' s other works of failing athletes, recognizing the author's own background in sports as a solid base for his writing.

Oates, Joyce Carol, "John Updike's American Comedies," in The Profane Art: Essays & Reviews, E. P. Dutton, 1983. This essay, which does not mention "The Slump" by name, still gives a good analysis of Updike's works at the time it was published and his significance to American literature.

Plath, James, ed., Conversations with John Updike, University Press of Mississippi, 1994.

This book contains thirty-two interviews with the author, over the course of more than thirty-five years.

Pritchard, William H., Updike:America's Man of Letters, Steerforth Press, 2000.

Pritchard traces the roots of Updike's writing back to early American authors, with contemporary references to show the author's...