An introduction to our Cedar Falls Authors Festival

1. The Cedar Falls Authors
Festival:
An Introduction
by Cherie Dargan

2. Overview
 Explain Our Purpose
 Introduce our Five Authors & highlight
their Cedar Falls Connections & Work
 Introduce our Umbrella Group and
mention our sponsoring organizations
 Show you our website where you can
find more information
 Mention a few of the upcoming events

3. Our Purpose
 To celebrate the
literary legacy of our
five best selling,
nationally known
authors
 To discover other local
authors and compile a
directory
 To provide materials
about the five authors
and support programs
being offered
throughout the
community from May
2017 through May
2018

4. Our Origins
 The Authors Festival
is the result of a
conversation and a
vision!
 Rosemary Beach
and Barbara
Lounsberry are at
the heart of our
project
 Project has created
opportunities for
collaboration in our
community

5. Our Website
 http://www.cfauthorsfestival.org/
 Information about the festival
 Highlights on each author, with
downloadable materials to read and
discuss in book clubs and classrooms
 Embedded, color coded calendar of
events

6. The “Umbrella Group”
(Our Core Group of Organizers)
 Rosemary Beach, Chair (Retired Executive Director of
the Cedar Falls Historical Society)
 Jan Andersen (Retired Cedar Falls Tourism & Visitors
Bureau)
 Mary Brammer (Cedar Falls Public Art Committee
member
 Scott Cawelti (Retired UNI Professor and Cedar Falls
author)
 Cherie Dargan (Retired Professor, Hawkeye Community
College and Cedar Falls author)
 Barbara Lounsberry (Retired UNI Professor and Cedar
Falls author)
 Kim Manning (Cedar Falls Tourism & Visitors Bureau)
 Mary Taylor (Director of Development, Western Home
Community)

7. Some of our Partners: the CF
Library and Hearst Center

8. Sponsoring Organizations
 Cedar Falls Arts & Culture Board-- James Kerns, President
 Cedar Falls Arts & Culture Board-- Kate Brennan Hall, Vice
President
 Cedar Falls Cable Channel 15--Denny Bowman
 Cedar Falls Community Schools--Andy Patee,
Superintendent
 Cedar Falls Community Schools Curriculum--Christine
Mangrick
 Cedar Falls Community Schools Curriculum--Megann
Tresemer
 Cedar Falls Community Main Street--Carol Lilly
 Cedar Falls Community Theatre-- John Luzaich
 Cedar Falls Historic Preservation Commission, UNI history
professor-- Tom Connors
 Cedar Falls Historic Preservation Commission-- Iris Lehmann
 Cedar Falls Historical Society-- Karen Smith

9. More Partners

10. Sponsoring Organizations,
cont.
 Cedar Falls Municipal Band--Dennis Downs
 Cedar Falls Public Library--Sheryl McGovern,
 Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center,
UNI-- Steve Carignan
 Hartman Reserve Nature Center--Ed
Gruenwald,
 Hearst Center for the Arts--Martin Arthur
 Hearst Center’s “Final Thursday Reading
Series”--James O’Loughlin, UNI English
professor (and Cedar Falls author)
 New Aldaya--Millisa Tierney, Director

11. Sponsoring Organizations,
cont.
 North American Review, Jeremy Schraffenberger, co-
editor UNI English professor (and Cedar Falls author)
 The Ruth Suckow Memorial Association (RSMA)—
Barbara Lounsberry and Cherie Dargan
 Sturgis Youth Theatre, UNI-Theater--Gretta
Berghammer, professor
 UNI English Department (and Cedar Falls author)--Julie
Husband, Head
 UNI Theatre Department-- Eric Lange, Head,
 UNI education professor, Kathy Oakland, programs at
New Aldaya & the Western Home Communities
 UNI Rod Library -- Christopher Cox, Dean and Director

12. Our Five Authors
 Bess Streeter Aldrich
 Ruth Suckow
 James Hearst
 Nancy Price
 Robert James Waller
 All best-selling authors, nationally
known with Cedar Falls
Connections!

14. Their Cedar Falls Connection
 https://sites.google.com/site/historicalced
arfalls/home/categories/literature
 2012 Project done by a UNI class
 “The city of Cedar Falls makes for an
idyllic setting. Writers Bess Streeter
Aldrich, Ruth Suckow, James Hearst,
and Nancy Price have used Cedar
Falls as the setting for their works.”
“Robert Waller set Slow Waltz in
Cedar Bend (1993) in the town, as
well.”

15. What do they have in
common?
 James Hearst and Bess Streeter
Aldrich were born in Cedar Falls; Ruth
Suckow and James Robert Waller
were born elsewhere in Iowa. Nancy
Price was born in South Dakota.
 Three have birthdays in August.
 Four taught at the University of
Northern Iowa (all but Aldrich) and
three were students there (Aldrich,
Hearst & Waller).

16. What do they have in common,
cont.
 Hearst knew Suckow and her
husband; they corresponded
 Suckow commented on one of his
poems & sent written “corrections” on
it
 She wrote a Foreword for his book
Country Men
 Aldrich corresponded with Hearst
 Price wrote a Foreword for a book of
Hearst’s poetry published

17. Bess Streeter Aldrich
 February 17, 1881
-– August 3, 1954
 Bess Streeter
Aldrich tells the
stories of the
pioneers who came
to Iowa.
 We “share her” with
Nebraska, since
she moved there in
1909.

18.  She is known as
a prolific author
of 200 short
stories and 13
novels.
 Her book Miss
Bishop was
made into a
movie, Cheers
for Miss
Aldrich: book to movie, Miss
Bishop

19. From the Biographical Dictionary
of Iowa
 “When her mother's family arrived in
Cedar Falls, they lived first in a sheep
shed with quilts covering the door
opening while they built their house.
 Bess's mother, Mary Wilson Anderson,
had little formal education, but at 18 she
taught in one of the first log schools in
the area, "boarding around" and
receiving $20 for three months of
teaching.”
 Her parents married in 1855: both sides
were pioneers.

20. Her Birthplace & children
 809 Franklin Street (left)
 Bess with children

21. Aldrich and Cedar Falls
 “Bess Streeter Aldrich based her Song of
Years (1938) on the history of her
pioneer grandfather, Zimri Streeter, who
settled in Cedar Falls.
 The main character in Miss Bishop
(1933) is thought to be based on a
professor from the University.
 In the beginning of A Lantern in Her
Hand (1928), Bess Streeter Aldrich uses
Cedar Falls as the setting.” (Literary
History Website, UNI class project, 2012)

22. Aldrich & UNI

23. Aldrich quotes
 "The Nebraska heat rolled in upon one
like the engulfing waves of a dry
sea...."
A White Bird Flying - 1931
 "Christmas Eve was a night of song
that wrapped itself about you like a
shawl. But it warmed you more than
your body. It warmed your heart ...
filled it too, with melody that would last
forever."
Song of Years - 1938
 Aldrich Museum website.

24. Lantern Novel online
 http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks05/0500521h.html
 A LANTERN IN HER HAND By Bess Streeter Aldrich
 Abbie Mackenzie was old Abbie Deal's
maiden name. And because the first eight
years of her life were interesting only to her
family, we shall skip over them as lightly as
Abbie herself used to skip a hoop on the
high, crack-filled sidewalks in the little village
of Chicago, which stood at the side of a lake
where the bulrushes grew.
 We find her then, at eight, in the year 1854,
camping at night on the edge of some
timberland just off the beaten trail between
Dubuque and the new home in Blackhawk
County, Iowa, to which the little family was
bound. (from Chapter 1)

25. Works of Bess Streeter Aldrich
 Mother Mason (1924)
 The Rim of the Prairie (1925)
 The Cutters (1926)
 A Lantern in Her Hand (1928)
 A White Bird Flying (1931)
 Miss Bishop (1933)
 Spring Came on Forever (1935)
 The Man Who Caught the
Weather (1936)
 Song of Years (1939)

26. Works of Bess S. Aldrich,
cont.
 The Drum Goes Dead (1941)
 The Lieutenant's Lady (1942)
 Journey into Christmas (1949)
 The Bess Streeter Aldrich
Reader (1950)
 A Bess Streeter Aldrich
Treasury (1959) (posthumous)
 The Collected Short Works, 1907–
1919
 The Collected Short Works, 1920–

27. Ruth Suckow
 August 6, 1892 --
January 23, 1960
 “Realistic
regionalist”
 Iowa’s first
Feminist writer
 Captured the
people and
scenery of Iowa’s
small towns and
farms
 Grew up as a
minister’s daughter

28. Ruth Suckow, cont.
 Most of her stories
are set in Iowa
 Married a CF native,
Ferner Nuhn (11
years younger)
 They loved traveling,
writing, & cats
 Kept bees in Earlville
to support herself as
a writer in New York
City for part of the
year.

29. Ruth & Ferner’s
relationship
 An observer described them: “Nuhn
found an artist who could translate the
Midwest, and in Nuhn, Suckow found
a critic who could understand the
translation.” Above all, they supported
each other’s work.
 Christian, “She wrote of Iowa,” 61.

30. Ruth & Ferner: married for 30 years

31. Life in Cedar Falls
 “Always she
returned to Iowa,
rejoicing in the
superb farm land,
tree-shaded
towns, and
unpretentious
friendly people,”
 Ferner Nuhn of
Ruth Suckow
 Ruth lived in CF
with her father &
Stepmother
Opal 1922-1923.
 She & Ferner lived
here after marriage
twice, during the
1930s-1940s.

32. Ruth with a white cat: Ferner’s
portrait & photo

33. From “A Rural Community”
He looked toward the dark pastures
beyond the row of dusky willow trees.
They widened slowly into the open
country which lay silent, significant,
motionless, immense, under the stars,
with its sense
of something abiding.

34. Suckow Grave, Greenwood
 Died 1960
 Ruth is buried in
Greenwood
cemetery between
father & husband
 However, Ferner
was there for 20
years without a
headstone:
remedied 2009

35. Ferner’s legacy: Supper Club & Art
Center that later became the Hearst

36. Their CF Connection
 Ferner established first community art
center, which developed into the
Hearst Center
 He donated Marjorie’s paintings
 The couple was friends with Dorothy
and Martin Grant: both husbands were
original members of the CF Supper
Club (going strong 76 years later!)

37. Suckow’s Works
 Country People. New York: Knopf, 1924.
 The Odyssey of a Nice Girl. New York: Knopf, 1925.
 Iowa Interiors. New York: Knopf, 1926.
 The Bonney Family. New York: Knopf, 1928.
 Cora. New York: Knopf, 1929.
 The Kramer Girls. New York: Knopf, 1930.
 Children and Older People. New York: Knopf, 1931.
 The Folks. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1934.
 Carry-Over. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1936.
 New Hope. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1936.
 Some Others and Myself. New York: Rinehart, 1952.
[short stories and "A
 Memoir"]
 The John Wood Case. New York: Viking, 1959.

38. Suckow’s Works, cont.
University of Iowa Press -- Iowa City, IA
Two of Ruth Suckow's earlier books were reprinted, largely due
to the efforts of the RSMA.
 The Folks (reissued in 1992) New Hope (reissued in 1998)
 In addition, A Ruth Suckow Omnibus came out in 1988: with
eleven short stories.
Iowa Digital Heritage Website
 http://www.iowaheritage.org/ Then click on "People and
Biographies." The Ruth Suckow Short Story Collection is on
page 7--if you want to take a look or to direct others to these
stories.
 For more information, visit the Suckow Website.
http://www.ruthsuckow.org
 She also wrote for many national publications.

39. James Hearst
 August 8, 1900 --
July 27, 1983
 Called “The Robert
Frost of the
Midwest”
 UNI professor
 Poet, Teacher,
Writer
 Focus on Iowa’s
crops, farms,
farmers & nature

40. James Hearst, cont.
 He began writing poetry at age 19
 Wrote 13 books of poems, a novel,
short stories, cantatas, and essays
 He was published in The Midland, a
regional magazine published by John
Frederick, as well as by other
publishers.
 He was partially paralyzed by a diving
accident in his late teens and wrote
about that experience & its impact on

41. Hearst as a young man

42. James Hearst, cont.
 Hearst wrote that
“time is a great gift
and we should
make the most of
it.”
 The humble man
often said he was
“not a poet, but a
man who [wrote]
poetry.” (Maggie
Moss, Lit & history
website)

43. Hearst & UNI

44. His poetry
 “Part of the
regionalist
movement …James
Hearst helped create
what Iowa novelist
Ruth Suckow called
“a poetry of place.”
 Hearst wrote with a
distinct voice of rural
life and its joys and
conflicts….” (Scott
Cawelti)

45. Seventy Times Seven
Let rain discover
Some other door
I shall not uncover
Mine anymore.
The pale voices
quicken
On the dark pane
Gather and thicken
In low refrain.
Bird and bee are
lying
Under their leaf
My heart is crying
Its ancient grief.
Where under heaven
Can it be done--
Seventy times Seven
Is Only one

46. Intersections!
 Scott Cawelti took on the task of gathering
the complete work of Hearst on the request of
Professor Robert Ward, his teacher,
colleague & friend.
 Nancy Price wrote an Introduction to the
volume, writing movingly of his life & work.
She met him when she was 15 & he was 40.
 Robert James Waller reviewed it (“James
Hearst wrote eloquently of the land, its
pleasures and sorrows, carefully turning the
language as one of his farmer heroes turns
the soil…”)
 Ruth Suckow wrote a Foreword for one of his
books of poetry (Country Men).

47. The Hearst Center

48. Works by James Hearst
 Hearst wrote ten volumes of poetry:
 Country Men (1937, 1938, 1943)
 The Sun at Noon (1943)
 Man and His Field (1951)
 A Limited View (1962),
 A Single Focus (1967)
 Dry Leaves (1975)
 Shaken by Leaf Fall(1976)
 Proved by Trial (1977)
 Snake in the Strawberries (1979)
 Landmark and Other Poems (1979)

49. Works by James Hearst, cont.
Two collections of poetry were published
posthumously:
Selected Poems (1994) and The Complete
Poetry of James Hearst (2001), edited by
Scott Cawelti, with a forward by Nancy
Price.
He wrote two books of prose:
 My Shadow Below Me (1982)
(an autobiography) and
 Time Like a Furrow: Essays (1982).

50. Nancy Price
 March 16, 1925--
 Long time resident
of Cedar Falls: she
set some of her
stories in the city
 She studied at UNI,
where she received
her MA in 1964.
 She also taught at
UNI.

51. Nancy Price, cont.
 A quote from her website describes
her response to getting published: ".. I
can't believe that I—a housewife in
Cedar Falls, Iowa–saw my poems and
short stories appear in magazines,
newspapers, and books.” Nancy Price
 Her first poem was published when
she was 14, shaping her identity as a
writer.

52. Some of her books

53. Sleeping with the Enemy
 Sleeping With the
Enemy brought her
fame, and was made
into a movie starring
Julia Roberts
 Book translated into
18 languages
 Focus on spousal
abuse: "I can’t live
without you. And I
won’t let you live
without me.” - Patrick
Bergin as Martin
Burney to wife Laura

54. Sleeping with the Enemy, cont.
 ”Sleeping with the Enemy grossed
over $101 million, good for the #8 slot
on the list of Hollywood’s top
moneymakers for 1991.”
 https://tv-movie-
reviews.knoji.com/julia-roberts-in-
sleeping-with-the-enemy-1991-movie-
trivia-fun-facts/ “Movie Trivia Fun
Facts.” Lists 21 fun facts worth the
read for fans of the movie.

55. Screenwriting from Iowa
blog
 “Price paid her dues. Between writing as
a child to when the movie got made in
1991 she earned a B.A. in English and
art from Cornell College and a Master’s
Degree at the University of Northern
Iowa, studied writing at the Iowa Writers
Workshop, raised three children, had her
work rejected by the New York Times 75
times, had a string of 60 short stories
and poetry published, and had three
novels published.” Scott Smith.

56. Poetry: A Do-it-yourself Poem
 In Colorado once, Iowans,
farm-hungry, scooped up that western dirt
in their callused hands. It was crumbling
and richly black.
They staked claim, out-waited the winter,
waited out the summer, and almost starved.
They had the seed; they had the plows
and the prayers
and the babies coming, yes, and the strong arms
and the willing backs. What were they waiting for?
Rain. That was all. And it never came,
and never would. Now, you go on, like they did:
say, "That's life."
Make your own metaphor.

57. Nancy the Illustrator & Author

58. Works by Nancy Price
http://www.nancypricebooks.com/works.ht
m
Sleeping with the Enemy
A Natural Death
No One Knows
Night Woman
An Accomplished Woman
Two Liars and a Bride
Bonfire’s Daughter
Mistress and Commander

59. Works by Nancy Price, cont.
 http://www.nancypricebooks.com/publi
shed_poetry_27651.htm
 Sample poems and list of where she
has published poetry
 http://www.nancypricebooks.com/inde
x.htm Her website
 https://tv-movie-
reviews.knoji.com/julia-roberts-in-
sleeping-with-the-enemy-1991-movie-
trivia-fun-facts/

60. Robert James Waller
 Robert James
Waller
August 1, 1939-
March 10, 2017
 Studied at UNI
 Later, he taught
courses in
management &
economics
 Became a Dean

61. Life in Cedar Falls
 Writer, poet,
musician &
photographer
 Busy Academic
 Married first wife
 Played in a band
 His house, 3011
Winter Ridge Road

62. Break out novel, Bridges

63. The story BEHIND the book
 Waller told The Des Moines Register
in 1992 that “Bridges” was “written” in
his mind as he drove from Des Moines
to Cedar Falls after photographing the
covered bridges in Madison County.
 http://www.newsday.com/entertainmen
t/books/robert-james-waller-author-of-
the-bridges-of-madison-county-has-
died-at-77-1.13243062

64. Bestselling book to movie
 The Associated Press reports that Waller
famously wrote Bridges in just 11 days. The
novel, about a photographer who falls in love
with a war bride in Italy, also became a
successful Clint Eastwood movie that made
$182 million in 1995. The book was first
published in 1992.
 The novel is one of the bestselling books of
the 20th century, with 50 million copies sold
worldwide.
 It has also been adapted into a feature film in
1995 and a musical in 2013.
 Waller also recorded an album of music--
called The Ballads of Madison County in
1993.

65. Move to Texas, Mid 90s
 Waller and his first
wife moved to West
Texas where they
bought a 1,200
acre ranch named
Firelight.
 It is not far from
Alpine, a small
town of around
6,000

66. Wonderful article w 5
videos
 https://tinyurl.com/lxx6
l2t
 Five Fast Facts from
Heavy.com
 After his death in March,
many articles praised his
writing.
 Embeds 5 Videos, which
consist of several
interviews, and making
of the album following up
to the movie.
 Also includes quotes
from our own Rosemary
Beach & Scott Cawelti.

67. Waller with CF Folks!
Waller with Rosemary & Bob
Beach, 2007
Waller with Scott C. & Gary K.,
2011

68. More Pictures

69. Works by Robert James Waller
 Novels
 The Bridges of Madison
County (1992)
 Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend (1993)
 Puerto Vallarta Squeeze (1995)
 Border Music (1995)
 A Thousand Country Roads: An
Epilogue to The Bridges of Madison
County (2002)
 High Plains Tango (2005)
 The Long Night of Winchell

70. Works by Robert James
Waller, cont.
 Collections
 Just Beyond the Firelight (1988)
 Non-fiction
 One Good Road is Enough (1990)
 Iowa: Perspectives on Today and
Tomorrow (1991)
 Old Songs in a New Café (1994)
 Images (1994)
 The Summer Nights Never End...Until They
Do: Life, Liberty, and the Lure of the Short-
Run (2012)
 Music
 The Ballads of Madison County: A Collection
of Songs

71. How to learn about Events
 The website includes an embedded
Google Calendar on the EVENTS
page
 Currents magazine
 Facebook page for the Cedar Falls
Tourism office
 Press releases in the Waterloo
Courier
 Brochure published by the Tourism
office

72. May, 2017 – Robert J Waller
 May 4 – Robert James Waller program at
the Hearst Center
 Scott Cawelti, presenter
 Marjorie Nuhn Exhibit at the Hearst.
 She is Ferner Nuhn’s sister, & sister-in-
law to Ruth Suckow Nuhn.
 Marjorie’s paintings will be on display
from May 18 to June 17
 Gary Kelley’s Signed Posters also
available for sale for $25.00

73. June—Ruth Suckow
 Saturday, June 10—the Annual
meeting of the Ruth Suckow Memorial
Association at the CF Public Library,
morning. Members come from all over
the Midwest.
 1:00, CFL, Public discussion of
Suckow’s novella, A Part of the
Institution.
 Novella posted on
www.ruthsuckow.org

74. June events for Ruth Suckow,
cont.
 Installation of Sculpture honoring Ruth
Suckow & Ferner Nuhn, Hearst
Garden
 Reception following—Time TBA
 7:00 pm – Program, “Writing & Touring
Just Suppose: The Life of Iowa
Novelist Ruth
Suckow,” playwright Rebecca
Christian,” Hearst Center. Lenore
Howard will join her: she portrayed
Suckow in the play!

75. July – Nancy Price
 Friday, July 14: Seerley Park Sleeping
with the Enemy Weekend Festival
 7 p.m.: Beer garden and music,
sponsored by the College Hill
Partnership. Price’s autographed books
available in the Park.
 9 p.m.: Outdoor screening of Sleeping
with the Enemy in Seerley Park,
sponsored by
the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts
Center

76. July – Nancy Price, cont.
 Saturday, July 15 – CF Tour of Homes tours of
the four homes surrounding Seerley Park
connected to Sleeping with the Enemy
 (Price’s home on Iowa Street; 3 homes across
the Park on Tremont St. that appear in the novel
and also the UNI President’s home, where Nancy
lived as a teenager) 1 p.m.
 Sunday, July 16 – Public Panel
Discussion: “Sleeping with the Enemy: Novel vs.
Film,” 2 p.m., Hearst Center, Grant Tracey, Greg
Holt, UNI student, Barbara Lounsberry
(moderator); Nancy Price will be present to
answer questions and sign books.
 Gary Kelley’s Signed Posters also available for sale for
$25.00

77. August – birthday party &
more
 All month: “Nancy Price: Original Book
Illustrations,” Hearst Center exhibition
 Cedar Falls Public Library Birthday
Celebration: Cake and drink will be served in
the upstairs meeting room all day
on Saturday, August 5.
 Ruth Suckow -- (August 6, 1892 – January
23, 1960)
 James Hearst -- (August 8, 1900 - July 27,
1983)
 Robert James Waller -- August 1, 1939—
March 10, 2017
 We will also recognize local authors with
August Birthdays and schedule a slot for
them to share some of their work.

78. September–James Hearst
 All the programs will begin at 7:00 at the
Hearst Center.
 Thursday, Sept. 7: Jeremy
Schraffenberger: "James Hearst and the
North American Review."
 Thursday Sept 14: Scott Cawelti: "James
Hearst's poems as Songs: Reprise and
Update"
 Thursday Sept 21: Jim O'Loughlin: Title
TBD, but tentatively "Planting Red
Geraniums: Discovered Poems of James
Hearst."


79. October--Bess Streeter Aldrich
 Sunday, October 15: Cedar Falls
Historical Society Song of
Years Cemetery Walk, 2 to 3:30 p.m.
 Sunday, October 22: Screening of
film Cheers for Miss Bishop, Oster
Regent Theatre, 4:30 p.m.
 Please watch the EVENTS page for
more details and more events, which
go until May 2018.

80. Sources
 The Cedar Falls Authors Festival
website,
www.cfauthorsfestival.org
 Historical Cedar Falls
https://sites.google.com/site/historicalce
darfalls/home/categories/literature
 Page developed by Maggie Moss,
2012 as part of a class taught by Dr.
Thomas Connor, Dept. of History, UNI

81. Sources, cont.
 https://screenwritingfromiowa.wordpress.com
/ Review of Nancy Price’s Sleeping with the
Enemy
 http://heavy.com/entertainment/2017/03/jame
s-robert-waller-dead-bridges-of-madison-
county-author-cause-age-biography-wife-
family/
 Robert James Waller Dead: 5 Fast Facts
You Need to Know
 http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/books
/robert-james-waller-author-of-the-bridges-of-
madison-county-has-died-at-77-1.13243062
 Robert James Waller, author of ‘The
Bridges of Madison County,’ has died at
77