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Author Archives: Ana McCracken
World-Class Architecture in Des Moines
The new Kum & Go headquarters building on Grand Avenue is spectacular. Designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, it is an architectural feast for the eyes. Continue reading
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Halloween Miracles
Charlie Brown, there is a Great Pumpkin! Imagine my dismay when two days ago I realized Halloween fell on my creative writing class night, with Ed out of town. You might say, “So? Turn the lights off. Leave the house.” … Continue reading
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The Avy Report – Mommy’s a Graduate Student
Last fall, Mommy surprised friends and family by announcing she was heading back to school. Her goal—to get accepted into the MFA in creative writing and environment program at IOWA STATE (ISU). I capitalize IOWA STATE, because invariably if Mommy doesn’t … Continue reading
The Typewriter Cookie & the Legacy of Lisa Bonchek Adams
The other day an email landed in my inbox from Rita Bonchek, mother of Lisa Bonchek Adams. Many of my writer friends will remember Lisa for the blogs she wrote after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006. Lisa, … Continue reading
Posted in News Events
Tagged breast cancer, cancer, cancer diagnosis, chemo, Dani Shapiro, family conversations, grief, life legacy, Lisa Bonchek Adams, retreat, sadness, writing
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The Ungenerous Reader Recommends Five Books
“How’s that book you’re reading,” I ask Ed, my husband. Ed learned how to speed read in a one-room school, and is always reading a book. “Ok.” “It’s good?” “Not necessarily.” “Then why are you reading it,” I ask. “I … Continue reading
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Postcard from the South | Number 4
A WRITERS’ TOUR OF THE SOUTH Trip Highlights #2 A lot of Ed’s and my trip after we deposited the grandkid at Huntsville Space Camp was unplanned. Our one known destination was the battlefields at Vicksburg. As we lounged in … Continue reading
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Tagged 1950 Nobel Prize for Literature, Eudora Welty, Eudora Welty Garden House, Jackson Mississippi, New Albany Mississippi, Old Miss, Oxford Mississippi, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 1972 The Optimist's Daughter, Rowan Oaks, University of Mississippi, Willa Cather, William Faulkner
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Postcard from the South | Number 3
A WRITERS’ TOUR OF THE SOUTH Trip Highlights #1 BOOKSTORES & COFFEE As I sit waiting to fly back to Des Moines, my thoughts return to a couple of trip highlights—authors, bookstores, and coffee. This brief post features coffee and bookstores. … Continue reading
Along the Loess Hills Scenic Byway
Leaving Omaha today, I chose to take the scenic route home to Ames. So, I headed north up I-29 to Mondamin, and turned off to hook up with Hwy 183 to 141, which took me on the Loess Hills National … Continue reading
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Tagged Cronks, Dennison Iowa, Jefferson Iowa, Loess Hills, Loess Hills National Scenic Byway, RAGBRAI 2018, Switchgrass
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The Country Seemed to be Running
Today, my long-time chum, Mary and I took a a break from the annual Willa Cather conference in Red Cloud, NE celebrating the centenary publication of My Antonia, and headed due south on US-281. A pilgrimage of sorts to stand on the … Continue reading
