Articles by Steve Semken

Pick Up Stick City

Posted on July 29, 2021 by Steve Semken

Funny, poignant and more than a bit whimsical, this allegorical tale of small-town and environmental care is suffused with wonder. […]

A long journey to homestead and in pioneer spirit the Dell’s moved from Iowa to the Dakota territory. Travel, food, children and hardships awaited them as they worked to achieve their dreams. Along the way, a friendship developed with well-known Lakota Chief Sitting Bull. A humble and educational story. […]

Wyman and the Florida Knights

Posted on June 30, 2021 by Steve Semken

Wind In My Wheels

Posted on May 4, 2021 by Steve Semken

An extraordinary dream of biking across all fifty states becomes a reality, one remarkable ride after another. The winds of the Plains, beautiful ocean waves, Alaskan highways, memorable meals and conversations. A wise accounting of lifes up and downs from the perspective of a biker. A travel guide, a memoir, and cycling advice rolled into one. Friendships. Family, Determination. […]

Birds In The Morning

Posted on April 9, 2021 by Steve Semken

Lyrical meditations on rural life braided with observations from her global public health and medical practice with struggles raising an autistic son and all the beauty and challenges brought by the creatures that surround her wild Iowa home. An instant environmental classic. An updated Leopold Land Ethics book. […]

The White Man Who Stayed

Posted on December 22, 2020 by Steve Semken

A timely and useful look at race in US History by James Autry with an introduction by well-known author/media host Bill Moyers […]

The Way of Nile C. Kinnick, Jr.

Posted on September 17, 2020 by Steve Semken

… The Way of Nile C. Kinnick Jr.: Insights, Images, and Stories of Iowa’s 1939 Heisman Trophy Winner. 2018 marks the hundredth anniversary of one of Iowa’s most notable native sons. Read more… […]

When This Is Over: Pandemic Poems

Posted on August 27, 2020 by Steve Semken

The Last Caucus in Iowa

Posted on August 27, 2020 by Steve Semken

The Physician’s Challenge

Posted on June 18, 2020 by Steve Semken

A true insider’s look into medicine and research. We start with the Malaria Project at the Stateville Penitentiary Joliet, Illinois; 1960’sand Nathan Leopold and the process and the men who volunteered for studies and served on the staff of the
Malaria Project, and to the doctors whose stories I tell with admiration and affection.
[…]

From Cancer to Kinnick

Posted on June 8, 2020 by Steve Semken

An endearing account of a family’s loving wish to adopt a child from China, to care for a daughter and the support, hope, love, and inspiration they find all along the way. Who knew a simple wave and the care of people at the hospital would make such a huge difference. A heart breaking and heart warming and much needed story for our times. […]

Creation of an Artist

Posted on May 17, 2020 by Steve Semken

A Certain Arc

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Steve Semken

A Certain Arc follows Hamilton through a university career where he encounters and participates in the culture of writers and writing. Beginning with “Hometown,” which portrays his origins, […]

Tough Little Beauties

Posted on March 2, 2020 by Steve Semken

A writer of fine intelligence and style, Stephanie Mills is known for her nature essays. This readable and relevant collection selects a handful of those as well as pieces on technological hubris, war resistance, reproductive rights and wrongs, and a sojourn in India. Varied, deep, and often witty, Mills’ writings deal with matters that concern […]

Possum Trot

Posted on March 2, 2020 by Steve Semken

A Midwest Booksellers Association Midwest Connections Pick The pieces in this collection form a lament for a way of life mostly gone. “The family farm is dead. Did you know?” says one character within. “E.B. White writes Charlotte’s Web today, it takes place in a hog confinement. Imagine Wilbur living in a concentration camp for pigs.” […]

Chasing Weather

Posted on February 21, 2020 by Steve Semken

Chasing Weather is an award-winning book. It is a Finalist in the Midwest Independent Bookseller Association’s Choice Award for poetry, and was also a Midwest Connections pick! Plus, the book was selected a Kansas Book Award Winner for the 2014. “The sky is made of rivers before and after they became rivers,” Caryn writes in Chasing […]