On Friday, Prairie Lights will host Tim Fay and his crew of writers for this year’s celebration of the 24th edition of The Wapsipinicon Almanac.
Madison Lotenschtein
Journalism may be seen as the shoulders upholding democracy. Its range is never-ending, with its nerve in keeping the government in check and its way of informing the public of the arts, politics, and other global issues.
However, sometimes, people want to read a fictional short story, delve into a historical essay, or read a lengthy article on the environment’s weak state. The Wapsipinicon Almanac covers most corners of what the adventurous reader wishes to see on the page.
Timothy Fay, the editor and publisher of The Wapsipinicon Almanac, publishes his notable work once a year; he will celebrate its 24th edition at Prairie Lights, 15 S. Dubuque St., at 7 p.m. Friday. At the reading, Fay and some of his crew of writers for this year’s edition will read snippets of columns, essays, and articles.
As a college student, Fay worked at the daily student publication, where he wrote articles and learned the trade (and jargon) of printing. When the eager journalist/printer returned to Iowa, he found the newspapers only took a glance at issues that he thought should be written about. With his skill in writing and the know-how in working a printing press, Fay started the almanac, named after the sparkling river not far from his hometown.
“I got to the point where I wanted to combine my interest in typography and journalism,” Fay said. “There’s a beautiful river in northeastern Iowa, near Anamosa, where I publish, and I decided to name my magazine after it. It’s so close to home and gives so much beauty to the area.”
The magazine is forged from the letterpress printing method, which requires expertise, patience, and care. Invented in mid-15th century by Johannes Gutenberg, the method calls for the printer to put a movable type at the bottom of the press, place ink on it, and insert the paper on the printing bed, which gives the paper its beautiful handmade look.
In most newspapers, readers scan the sections for politics, the arts, metro, the occasional project, and sports. His fledgling editions focused sharply on the state of Iowa, specifically the fading light of small-town Iowa. Now on his 24th edition, the publisher still focuses on Iowa but also branches out into other areas of the Midwest as well.
With the almanac, readers flip to pages sections that cover historical essays, contemporary writing, environmental topics, fiction, and the publisher’s annual column, “Talk of the Township.”
The almanac has provided a diverse group of writers every year since 1988. Jane Purcell, Jim Walters, Lynda Leidiger, Dena Miller, and Dean Rathje are a few writers who will be at the reading.
There are a select — well, not so select — few who envision Iowa as a flyover state, the Hawkeye State, or a state that lacks literary and artistic influence. The third assumption proves itself to be false, because of people such Fay, journalists, creative writers, and even Iowa’s rolling hills lit with the glow of tiny towns prove that there is something special here.
