Go Retire Psychiatrist

This being National Park and Recreation Month, I was looking for whether or not a memorial plaque has been dedicated and placed yet at James Alan McPherson Park in Iowa City. The issue of the plaque has been up in the air for years. I remember it being discussed at the dedication of the park itself in 2021.

And then, I found an Iowa Public Radio (IPR) podcast of an interview with Rachel McPherson (James Alan McPherson’s daughter) and Anthony Walton, Senior Writer in Residence at Bowdoin College in Maine. Anthony Walton and Rachel McPherson collaborated on writing and publishing a collection of the essays and nonfiction of the Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction and longtime teacher at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. This was posted in February of 2023 and again in May of 2024.

The book was published in January of 2023, something we never heard about and neither did an Iowa newspaper which posted an “update” to the story on April 15, 2026 about the park’s opening in 2021.

So, of course we just ordered the book, entitled “On Becoming An American Writer: Essays and Nonfiction.”

We already have his famous books of short fiction, “Hue and Cry” (1968, winner of the Pulitzer for fiction) and “Elbow Room” (1977).

I think the new book is way better than a plaque. And by the way, there will be a musical performance on July 22, 2026 at James Alan McPherson Park by Stephanie Catlett with Dan Padley & Tara McGovern from 6:30-8:00 PM, 1858 7th Ave Ct, Iowa City, IA 52240.

I guess this deserves an encore of the video of the park dedication ceremony.