A poem exulting the song of the American goldfinch, the state bird of Iowa. Several stanzas about the vocal organ of birds, the syrinx and about the tireless flight of a hummingbird. An excerpt from a memoir describing the joy and perils and hardships of working as an art model, read by the model herself, who describes her writing as the creations of a nude poet. A brief translation from a novel by a 17th century Spanish writer, María de Zayas y Sotomayor, a bestselling author of her generation and a champion of women’s creativity and potential. Three flash fiction pieces with themes linked to the ocean read by a woman who is a regular at Porch Light, the local arts community center in Iowa City.
In the room, the audience listens with attention, some with their eyes closed, heads tilted, their heartbeats slowing down in relaxation.
Maybe they are relaxing because of words conjuring images of the sea, or the faint Friday evening drizzle beating on the window, or the scent of lavender and myrtle filling the air. We’re in Willow & Stock, a flower shop on N Linn Street in Iowa City. While an author reads, she cannot know that three people are filming her: husband, daughter and granddaughter. It’s a moment to remember.
That was the level of intimacy felt on Friday, April 4 during Mission Creek Festival‘s Lit Walk. As much a part of the mythos of the festival as the long list of past music headliners, the Lit Walk, as the MCF website states, gives festival-goers an opportunity to “…hear an unexpected variety of work from a mix of talented local and out-of-town writers.”
The Willow & Stock stop I attended saw host Devanshi Khetarpal inviting Leisha Nicole Stanek, Susan Fuchtman, Emma Athena Murray and Audrey C. to do readings. The walk, in Mission Creek fashion, had multiple readings at different venues. Attendees could mix-and-match their readings, creating something like a choose-your-own-adventure literary excursion. One could check out a favorite author for a “round-one” reading at Willow & Stock before checking the lineup at Revival, or vice versa (both venues had completely different lineups for both “rounds.”)
At Revival, host Ryan Collins, executive director of the Midwest Writing Center, welcomed the Mission Creek literary fans. Standing next to racks of jeans and colorful blouses, people listened to the words of students or alumni from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, the Creative Nonfiction, Playwriting, Translation, and Ph.D. in English programs, as well as from members of the community.
No matter what journey attendees picked for themselves, all roads of the Lit Walk ended at the esteemed Iowa City bookstore, Prairie Lights, followed by cocktails and somewhat less literary conversations at The Green House.
.
