Dear Julie Gammack,
Dear Julie Gammack,
Once again, you plucked me from my little corner of the universe in rural southern Iowa, which seems so small to others yet so vast to me, and set me down tenderly on the banks on the distant shores of Lake Okoboji, among my brothers and sisters for another Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat.
In this wondrous vortex of creativity, the most common greeting is, “What do YOU write?”
Here are some of the people I learned from.
A lovely poet walking up the stairs in a black dress whose words gallop across her emotions and ours.
An agent who wants to work with authors who write in genres that I didn’t even know existed.
A publisher who helped extricate me from a kayak in such a way that the comedy of the moment would have gone viral on TikTok if someone had had the foresight to turn their camera on.
A loving woman who heals the world through pie.
A man who tried to teach me the art of brevity with some success, such that I was finally able to come up with a six-word story he asked for just now, and here it is--“He said, write short, write on.”
A novelist juggling the vicissitudes of modern life who manages to look like she just stepped off the cover of one of her novels.
A friend and mentor who is a master of multiple genres who reads my drafts on controversial subjects to let me know if I am about to publish something stupid.
Two young women who are helping build a progressive movement from the bottom up, and a woman I shared a breakfast table with who has been fighting for social justice since before they were born.
Sisters who have had remarkable careers but have never stopped helping those who are just beginning.
A loving couple who write together, lovingly.
A woman who writes beautifully about the Iowa State Fair seeing things others don’t.
A writer and teacher who beamed with pride as his daughter stood at his side, as they learned and taught together.
A filmmaker who made a brilliant documentary about a brilliant poet. And the newspaperman who proudly led the discussion about his protege’s film. And the documentary made me tear up and if I weren’t so shy (really!) I would have wept.
A Pulitzer Prize winner who has no more fucks to give as he writes to save his newspaper, Iowa, and our democracy.
A scientist who Iowa legislators fear, and for good reason.
A man who stands in the breach defending the rights of a free press and the need for government transparency. Political scoundrels fear him, and for good reason.
A handful of musicians who showed us how their work is done, soulfully. And why do all of these musicians have such beautiful smiles?
A young journalist who calls me “grand-dad” even though we both are in our heads and hearts middle school boys on just this side of being in trouble. Always.
A novelist who cares about our mental health in so many ways.
A young woman with a rare blood disease who is an inspiration to us all.
Two television writers who made it look easy.
A screenwriter who shared all of the secrets of her craft, and an investigative reporter who uncovers secrets to inform us all.
A reporter who tells international truths in a hostile environment.
A musician whose beautiful voice, playing, and lyrics, who reminded me of what I enjoy most about country music.
Several farmers with ancient wisdom the Farm Bureau wants to go away.
A woman who is the voice of Iowa, and another woman who is the voice of her community using the beauty and power of their own vernacular.
A Hall-of-Fame musician and journalist who I first met a few months ago who has been my friend for a thousand years and I didn’t know it until then.
A woman who writes about cars and sailing, subjects I care little about, but her storytelling powers are so profound I hang onto every word she writes. If one of her stories were written on a kite I would try to climb the string so I could read it.
A mystery novelist I first found randomly on Kindle and who now is my friend, and could be yours.
A NY Times and USA Today bestselling novelist whose smile lights up the room when she shares the art of her craft.
One of the best political analysts/commentators on any and all planets who walked in five minutes late to a session I was teaching on commentary and sat down right in front of me, giving me my best line of the retreat, where I told those assembled with a laugh that “I feel like I’m a young actress teaching a beginning acting class and Meryl Streep just walked in and sat right down in front of me.”
A woman who built one of the best news organizations in the state in just a few years.
An arts reporter who is a work of art.
A journalist who spent her entire career comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.
Two young women writers who looked like they just stepped off the stage of a New York City supermodel fashion runway show who commandeered a barge on the lake so the pilot could dance to their music.
Dozens of writers young and old who found, at long last, their community.
And Julie, as the retreat drew to a close, you might remember that a young man walked up to you to thank you for the experience. I had met him the first night of the retreat, and he told me that he was attending to be “a sponge.” As he looked at you lovingly and with deep appreciation, I overheard him tell you that he was now “on fire” to write.
And as he walked away, you and I held hands, and I had no words to say other than thank you, thank you, thank you…
Richard is our captain, and you are our guiding light. You are our north star, and each and every one of us will forever be in your orbit, as you hold our warm and tender hands in your own, gently.
Love,
Bob
I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Subscribe! Become a paid subscriber if you can afford it. Please and thank you. We need you. Thanks for being part of the team! Want to buy me lunch or a cup of coffee? Venmo @Robert-Leonard-238. My friend Spencer Dirks and I have a podcast titled the Iowa Revolution. Check it out! We can get ornery. And have fun! I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.
Check out the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative political podcast, Iowa Down Ballot.
Robert, that was a tribute written from the soul in precisely the way a true Iowa writer in love with his craft could only do! It was a beautiful expression of love and caring that few ever get from any short term encounter with so many strangers, soon to be friends! Thank you for your insight!
Beautiful. Honored to have met so many of the people behind these words.