So what is Iowa, and who are Iowans?
Those are the questions Timothy Fay answers in his charming essay collection, The Wapsipinicon Almanac, recently released by the University of Iowa Press. The book contains a collection of contributions from writers, artists and advertisements over the more than 30-year span of Fay’s literary journal by the same title. Fay published the journal on a letterpress from 1988 through 2018.
An essay by Osha Davison, “The Last Days of the Schultz Brothers Variety Store”, evokes the sort of nostalgia we remember from our youth. The store offered everything including the kitchen sink to its Tipton customers for 58 years before its inevitable closing due to competition from big box stores.
“To the left of the glass door entrance stand racks of clothing; school supplies, household goods, toys, and hardware line shelves and displays to the right. The familiar smell of Spic and Span is everywhere.”
Davison poses a key question: “What kind of community will we have, and what kind of people will we have become, when all the Schultz Brothers stores (of whatever name) in all the small towns in Iowa have been replaced by Walmarts, Kmarts, and Targets? When our town squares stand silent and empty? When we have been divided into the few wealthy and the many poor?”
Mike Kilen, former features writer for the Des Moines Register, writes of his return to Iowa in “The Iowa Sky”. Kilen’s Iowa travel stories were a staple for Register readers for several years.
Kilen’s image of his return to Iowa would evoke pathos in any Iowan.
“The sun’s glow painted the thin, high clouds pink and purple, splotched against light blue sky that grew darker to the east. The place felt like a huge colored dome, plopped over the top of my van. The world suddenly was bigger and yet familiar again.”
John Peterson’s poem, “Wapsipinicon”, an appropriate selection for the collection, also captures the state beautifully.
Fay completes his collection with selections from “Talk of the Township” from 2010-2018, a mix of observations and opinions.
The Wapsipinicon Almanac is a great collection for anyone who fondly recalls the good old days of the country store. If you’re the sort of person who enjoys getting lost during a Sunday drive through the backroads, this is exactly the book for you.
Michael Tidemann writes from Estherville, Iowa. His author page is amazon.com/author/ michaeltidemann.
Timothy Fay University of Iowa Press ISBN 9781609388874 $27.50
