Famous Writers of Galesburg

A little while ago The Burg newspaper listed the ten most famous writers of Galesburg. I'm not sure if they listed Carl Sandburg but I'm sure they mentioned him; he's iconic and practically represents the town. But who else did they have? I've lost the article now, and I can't remember a single other name on it. Yes, the English professor at Knox; yes, a couple of other local luminaries. But I don't remember them.

I'm going to construct my own list, though, and that's because I'm genuinely curious about the writers like me who have chosen Galesburg as their home. I have been attending book signings at the Wordsmith but there, I've mostly met writers in the area who consider Wordsmith to be the best place to get some local recognition. From those I've learned that it's a rough life, going around peddling your books, and for the most part, I can't call any of them successful. At one that I attended, the place was virtually empty, both town and bookshop, and it was a Saturday afternoon. At another the bookshop was getting lots of business but the writer wasn't; people weren't interested in a book that he had spent a good portion of his life on.

From that and other experiences I've decided to not be in such a hurry to get out there and present myself as a writer, signing books myself, etc. What good is it if nobody shows up anyway? Here these poor people had prepared whole piles of hardback books with the intention of signing one after the other. And I can't say it was because they were poor writers; probably they were better than I am and their books, anyway, are impressive to me. I don't have a single hardback to my name, and am not even sure I can get Wordsmith to sponsor me.

My guess is that it's a sign of the times. Books are out of style; about half of their readership has gone online; people are in the habit of avoiding public situations. Kids, I've noticed, have been trained this way. Social distancing, stay away from people, etc.; for 65 years I was very social and a couple of years of pandemic didn't get me out of the habit. But other people, young people in particular, are just not ready to go up and talk to somebody about a book. Book? What's that? They may be feeling a little alienated.

It's a typical small town in lots of ways. I kind of like it; I've been thinking that 30,000, or whatever it stands at now, is about right for me. I'm baffled by a few things, like how it can have a single hardware store, that is closing no less, and nobody around to replace it or buy out what is clearly necessary. Some mysteries will just have to clear themselves up with time. But in the meantime, I'll keep a running list of writers, a list of my own, and report occasionally on them. Why not? You deserve to be informed.