Marilyn J Baszczynski – Ames Writers Collective

Join the us this Sunday, September 22nd from 10 to 4 at the Octagon Art Festival for our 3rd Annual Swift Literary Festival in Ames, Iowa. Meet our authors, and learn about Ames Writers Collective exciting upcoming news. Look for our tent on the corner of Douglas Avenue and Main Street in front of AVEC Design+Build.

Featured Authors & Poets

10 to 11:30

Marilyn J Baszczynski—Poetry
Paul Brooke—Poetry
Charlie R. North—Poetry
Dawn Terpstra—Poetry
Pat Underwood—Poetry

11:30 to 1

Paul Brooke—Poetry
Charlie R. North—Poetry
Dawn Terpstra—Poetry
Pat Underwood—Poetry
Deb Kline—Memoir

1 to 2:30

Stephen L. Brayton—Mystery & horror
Shannon K. Evans—Spiritual nonfiction
Kim Mosiman—Christian nonfiction
Ice Cube Press

2:30 to 4

William Bortz—Poetry
Charles R. Kniker—Nonfiction
Jennifer L. Knox—Poetry
Eva Newcastle—Magical realism
Ice Cube Press

What’s your genre?
Poetry

Are you published?
Traditional publisher

What inspired you to become a writer?
I think my love of stories brought me to writing. Then, as I began writing my own stories, I felt myself connecting to poetry, exploring that condensed and intense form as a good vehicle for what I wanted to share.

What author do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
Margaret Atwood and her relationships with nature and people would be first. But when we moved to Iowa, Ted Kooser and his work resonated very deeply. I love how his poems draw the reader down into the specific details of the experience without the poem drawing attention to itself.

Name three of your favorite books and their authors
I have far too many favorites to list, the three recent ones are: The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl
Gratitude with Dogs under Stars by Deb Marquart
Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay

What’s one thing readers should know about you?
Living in a rural space informs much of what I write about. It feels like a liminal space. This contributes to my belief that we are all connected to each other in our emotional landscapes, as well as to everything in the physical and spiritual world around us. I find myself writing in this space at the present time.

What one piece of advice would you give to a budding writer?
I always recommend that writers read extensively, and outside of the genre that they intend to focus on. There is an abundance of literature, and life, to inspire us. I think we just need to keep still to listen and receive it.

Author Bio
Marilyn J Baszczynski is a retired French teacher, originally from Ontario, Canada, who lives and writes in rural Iowa. She has two chapbooks: Gyuri. A poem of wartime Hungary, and daughter, while i’m still here. Her poems appear in numerous journals and anthologies including Abaton, Aurorean, Backchannels, Conestoga Zen, Gyroscope, Half-Way Down the Stairs, Healing Muse, Last Stanza, Midwest Poetry, Scapegoat, Shot Glass Journal, Star82 Review, Slippery Elm, and others. Marilyn is past-president of Iowa Poetry Association and editor-in-chief of their annual anthology, Lyrical Iowa, since 2017. Click here to visit Marilyn.