Nothing binds people together like the weather, so what could be a more fitting way to kick off Heritage Weekend than five farmers telling stories about the ever-changing phenomenon.
The Mount Vernon Area Arts Council will present Farm-to-Fork Tales five farmers telling stories about Iowa weather at 6 pm Thursday July 8, on the lawn in front of the First Street Community Center in Mount Vernon.
Farm-to-Fork Tales is produced in cooperation with Mary Swander, former Iowa Poet Laureate and professor emerita at Iowa State University. Swander has worked with five local people to develop their stories about weather in the Iowa countryside.
In addition to the stories, there will live music from the Mississippi Band, a trio that includes two members of the Iowa Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. The music will begin right after the end of the regular Thursday Farmers Market.
The storytellers include:
Suzan Erem — co-founder and executive director of the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust. She is a graduate of the University of Iowa and lives in Cedar County with her husband Paul Durrenberger, two dogs, seven hens and two roosters.
Laura Krouse, who grows vegetables for Abbe Hills Farm CSA. She’s farmed more than 30 years and is finally starting to figure it out. The best thing about her farm is that it allows her to spend time with kids and young people. In her spare time, she is a Linn Soil and Water Conservation District commissioner.
Allan Mallie — a local row crop and livestock farmer who describes himself as a running maniac, self-proclaimed music composer, father of three (two daughters and a son), and twelve-year member of the Lisbon School Board. He sums up his philosophy this way: “If you’re standing still, you’re not moving forward.”
David Miller, who describes himself as “aa hairless ape, larger than most of his species, but otherwise unremarkable, zoologically speaking.” Miller says he struggles with the ontological import of symbols as language — i.e., conveying truth through writing such as in a self-description or “brief biography.” Also, he has dope magical powers and can turn wine into water just by drinking it.
Kevin Woods, 66, full-time town job, part time in ag, the best possible arrangement. Living on the same farm the Woods’ family has been attempting to squeeze some resemblance of profit from for nearly 100 years. Husband of Mary Woods; cat whisperer, prairie princess, and all-around good partner.
Swander is an American author. Her books include the memoirs The Desert Pilgrim (Ice Cube Press) and Out of this World as well as three books of poetry, Heaven-and-Earth House, Driving the Body Back, and Succession.
Swander has also co-authored a musical, Dear Iowa, with composer Christopher Frank, which has been produced across the Midwest and on Iowa Public Television.
Her awards include a Whiting Award, a National Endowment for the Arts grant for the Literary Arts, the Carl Sandburg Literary Award, and the Nation-Discovery Award. In 2009, she was named to a two-year term as the Poet Laureate of Iowa. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa, she is a Distinguished Professor of English at Iowa State University.
The event is made possible by a grant from the Iowa Arts Council.