Meet our newest columnist
Teresa Zilk is a storyteller. And she believes everyone has one to tell. Teresa made a mission of this belief and created ‘Stories to Tell My Daughter, held on the campus of Grand View University in 2019. She plans to revive the series, which features women of color, that had been interrupted by Covid quarantine. The idea for the program came to her in a dream, and she wouldn’t let go until she took the action steps to make it a reality. Listen to an interview with her on the podcast Amplified with Abena and Jay.
Zilk was a news assistant for The Des Moines Register and is now in a graduate program at Drake University to become a therapist. She majored in Mass Communication/Media Studies at Grandview College, graduating in 2002.
Here is her first column as an Iowa Writers’ Collaborative member: Talking Good.
This Week…
The Democratic National Committee’s decision to kill the Iowa Caucus tradition was a big topic for our columnists. For various viewpoints, read Barry Piatt, Art Cullen, Laura Belin, and Ed Tibbetts.
The holiday season is touched on by four of our columnists this week. From grief accentuated by those missing during the holidays to Love Actually, and Wassail bowling in Shenandoah, capped off by a piece sure to make you think about heading to Oskaloosa for the ‘painting with lights’ display. Check them out below.
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative met in Jefferson last week. Read about it and the back story behind this column in Julie Gammack’s Potluck.
Other gems this week come to us via Mary Swander, Suzanna de Baca, Dave Busiek, and the hilarious Fern and Joe.
Photos from columns published this week.
ART CULLEN
ED TIBBETTS
LAURA BELIN
ROBERT LEONARD
FERN AND JOE
DAVE BUSIEK
SUZANNA DE BACA
JULIE GAMMACK
JODY GIFFORD
CHERYL TEVIS
BETH HOFFMAN
DANA JAMES
MARY SWANDER
LAURA BELIN
CHUCK OFFENBURGER
Watch for this digital ad and let us know if you see it. We are on the grow, with your help. Please tell just one person today about the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative and your favorite columns. Let’s do this together.
Coming soon, John Naughton, Tar Macias, and Nik Heftman
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative quick links
Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights
Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll
Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines
Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake
Suzanna de Baca Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley
Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County
Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji
Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames
Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines
Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilla
Dana James: New Black Iowa, Des Moines
Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa
Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames
Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey
John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines
Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines
Barry Piatt: Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona
Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County
Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport
Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines
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