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A Literary Walking Tour of Eastside Iowa City, Spring 1990

Literary Walking Tour of Eastside of Iowa City Page 15

Sandra McPherson, MFA, UI Writers' Workshop. "She presents the attitude that certain things must never be mislabeled or misrepresented. " (Daily Iowan, 10-9-78, Maria Flook) Among her publications are Streamers in 1988. Patron Happiness in 1983, and The Year of Our Birth, 1978. She teaches in California.

David Morrell, Canadian born, was a Professor of English at UI. Commenting on his first novel (First Blood, published 1972) Morrell says, " It was written as a respone to the loss of [my] soldier-father in WWII . . . the creation of an Audie Murphy type of hero .. . a Vietnam story about tactics, training methods, soldier behavior in the Korean and Vietnam Wars." That first novel, and successive novels, would be adapted as a series of "Rambo" films (Testament, Punitive Expedition, Brotherhood of the Stone, Fraternity of the Stone). Of writing Morrell has said, " It's important to say to yourself that I am a writer and writers write, they don't talk about writing, they don't go downtown with a bunch of other people that like to write and spend all afternoon talking about these books they could do if they had the inclination or the time -- you say to yourself, I'm a writer, and you sit down and you start to do your work. " (Beau Salisbury, DI 7-9-76)

Morrell has published a book on John Barth, and in 1988 wrote Fireflies, the story of the lengthy illness and death of his teenage son. 

Frank Luther Mott, student at UI 1921-22, UI faculty member. Mott was appointed head of the UI School of Journalism in 1927. In 1939 he received a Pulitzer Prize for his book, History of American Magazines. At UI he served as advisor to the Iowa Literary Magazine and Iowa Publishers, and co-edited Midlands from 1925-30. While at Iowa he founded the "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Speakers," which met quite regularly in a room furnished with Victoriana above what was then Smith's Cafe (11S Dubuque St). The members were required to wear formal, Victorian era costumes and behave in a manner believed to be appropriate to the period. The guest who generated the most publicity was to have been Gertrude Stein and her companion Alice B Toklas, but they became ice-bound in Waukeesha, Wisconsin and never did arrive in Iowa City. (S. Wilbers, The Iowa Writers Workshop, UI Press, 1980,27)

Bharti Mukerjee, MFA 1962 UI Writers' Workshop. Visiting professor to the Workshop in the early 1980's, she now teaches at the University of California-Berkeley. She has held faculty positions in Montreal and Toronto, and at Skidmore College. Mukherjee is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. Her most recent books are, The Middleman and Other Stories, and Jasmine. 

William Cotter Murray, Irish born Professor of English at UI migrated to US in 1949, came to UI Writers' Workshop in 1956. His novel, Michael Joe, A Novel of Irish Life was the first winner of the Meredith Iowa Writer's Award. He has also written A Long Way From Home. Of writing, Murray has said, "Writing is an egomania -- there will always be personality clashes . . . because so much of what you do involves a personal relationship." (Mary Zielinski, Daily Iowan, 10/20/71) He has lived at 103 S Governor Street. 

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Sandra McPherson, MFA, UI Writers' Workshop. "She presents the attitude that certain things must never be mislabeled or misrepresented. " (Daily Iowan, 10-9-78, Maria Flook) Among her publications are Streamers in 1988. Patron Happiness in 1983, and The Year of Our Birth, 1978. She teaches in California. David Morrell, Canadian born, was a Professor of English at UI. Commenting on his first novel (First Blood, published 1972) Morrell says, " It was written as a respone to the loss of [my] soldier-father in WWII . . . the creation of an Audie Murphy type of hero .. . a Vietnam story about tactics, training methods, soldier behavior in the Korean and Vietnam Wars." That first novel, and successive novels, would be adapted as a series of "Rambo" films (Testament, Punitive Expedition, Brotherhood of the Stone, Fraternity of the Stone). Of writing Morrell has said, " It's important to say to yourself that I am a writer and writers write, they don't talk about writing, they don't go downtown with a bunch of other people that like to write and spend all afternoon talking about these books they could do if they had the inclination or the time -- you say to yourself, I'm a writer, and you sit down and you start to do your work. " (Beau Salisbury, DI 7-9-76) Morrell has published a book on John Barth, and in 1988 wrote Fireflies, the story of the lengthy illness and death of his teenage son. Frank Luther Mott, student at UI 1921-22, UI faculty member. Mott was appointed head of the UI School of Journalism in 1927. In 1939 he received a Pulitzer Prize for his book, History of American Magazines. At UI he served as advisor to the Iowa Literary Magazine and Iowa Publishers, and co-edited Midlands from 1925-30. While at Iowa he founded the "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Speakers," which met quite regularly in a room furnished with Victoriana above what was then Smith's Cafe (11S Dubuque St). The members were required to wear formal, Victorian era costumes and behave in a manner believed to be appropriate to the period. The guest who generated the most publicity was to have been Gertrude Stein and her companion Alice B Toklas, but they became ice-bound in Waukeesha, Wisconsin and never did arrive in Iowa City. (S. Wilbers, The Iowa Writers Workshop, UI Press, 1980,27) Bharti Mukerjee, MFA 1962 UI Writers' Workshop. Visiting professor to the Workshop in the early 1980's, she now teaches at the University of California-Berkeley. She has held faculty positions in Montreal and Toronto, and at Skidmore College. Mukherjee is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. Her most recent books are, The Middleman and Other Stories, and Jasmine. William Cotter Murray, Irish born Professor of English at UI migrated to US in 1949, came to UI Writers' Workshop in 1956. His novel, Michael Joe, A Novel of Irish Life was the first winner of the Meredith Iowa Writer's Award. He has also written A Long Way From Home. Of writing, Murray has said, "Writing is an egomania -- there will always be personality clashes . . . because so much of what you do involves a personal relationship." (Mary Zielinski, Daily Iowan, 10/20/71) He has lived at 103 S Governor Street. 15