Dear Readers: I’m pleased to share my recent “On Leadership” column from the Business Record. While not about the 4th of July, the topic does make me think about what motivated our founding fathers, and what motivates our elected officials today.

What motivates you to lead, and how do you stay motivated when times get tough?

Why are you motivated to lead?

What inspires people to step forward

One of my earliest leadership experiences was entirely accidental.

I was probably 10 years old when my mother asked me to look after my younger brother’s Cub Scout troop for an afternoon. She was busy, and for reasons that now seem questionable, decided I was qualified to supervise a small gang of second-grade boys.

I took my assignment seriously. Growing up in rural Iowa, I had spent countless hours fishing with my parents, so I gathered up the scouts and headed to a nearby pond. We baited hooks, cast lines and waited for fish to bite. A few of the boys caught bluegills. Then, using a pocket knife, I showed them how to clean the fish by cutting off the heads and gutting them.

At the time, this seemed like perfectly appropriate programming for elementary-aged children.

Looking back, I can see that my instinct was not simply to keep the boys occupied. I was motivated to entertain them, certainly, but I was also motivated by example. I wanted to pass along useful skills that had been taught to me, drawing on what I had learned from people I admired and trusted.

This spring, I had the opportunity to teach an MBA leadership course at Iowa State University’s Ivy College of Business for the second year in a row. One of the topics that generated the most discussion was Motivation to Lead (MTL), a fascinating area of research that explores why some people actively seek out and thrive in leadership roles while others are perfectly happy avoiding them.

After all, leadership sounds great until you realize it often means being responsible for outcomes you don’t completely control, attending meetings that could have been emails and discovering that every problem somehow finds its way to your desk. In other words, leadership is often less about the thrill of catching a trophy fish and more often about cleaning up the fish mess.

In class, we examined a classic research article, “Is Leadership a Part of Me? A Leader Identity Approach to Understanding the Motivation to Lead,” by Guillén, Mayo, and Korotov. The article defines motivation to lead as a person’s “willingness to engage in leadership training activities and assume leadership roles. Their research suggests that people are motivated to lead in different ways. Some are inspired by role models through what they call “self-to-exemplar comparisons.” These are the people who see a great leader and think, “I want to be like her someday.” Maybe it’s a former boss who brought out the best in people, a coach or scout leader who changed your confidence, or a supervisor who somehow handled chaos without visibly panicking.

Others are motivated through “self-to-prototype comparisons.” They compare themselves to their own image of what a leader should be. They think, “I enjoy bringing people together, solving problems and helping others succeed.” Maybe they like color-coded spreadsheets or showing others how to clean fish. Leadership feels like a natural fit because it aligns with how they already see themselves.

I asked the students if they related to “self-to-exemplar” or “self-to-prototype” concepts and I was surprised by the richness and diversity of their responses. Some shared specific people who motivated them to step up, from celebrities to teachers, coaches and parents. Some had always seen themselves as future leaders or were always given roles managing activities. Others were less certain.

Many of these MBA students were in leadership positions in the working world, and others were leading at work and in school without realizing it. They supervised employees, served in student organizations, managed projects, coached teams or balanced demanding jobs while earning their MBA. Yet they still asked an important question: Am I really a leader?

Perhaps that question exists because leadership rarely looks like the movies, with the Rock or a Marvel action hero swooping down and saving the day. In everyday leadership, there are no inspirational soundtracks, dramatic speeches (unless you count a particularly inspiring Town Hall) or crowds chanting your name. More often, leadership looks like resolving a team conflict, helping a struggling employee, making a difficult decision with incomplete information or taking responsibility when things go wrong.

A broader perspective comes from the academic article “The Psychology of Motivation: What Drives Us to Succeed?” (Penn LPS Online, 2025), which defines motivation as the American Psychological Association’s “impetus that gives purpose or direction to behavior.” Some motivation is intrinsic. We lead because we genuinely enjoy helping others grow and succeed. Some is extrinsic. We appreciate recognition, influence or the opportunity to make a larger impact. Most of us are probably motivated by a combination of both.

Leadership can be rewarding, but it can also be exhausting, uncertain and occasionally make you wonder why you volunteered in the first place. Like teaching Cub Scouts to fish, leadership has its fun parts, but also comes with the messy cleanup.

So I leave you with the same question I asked my students: What motivates you to lead? And perhaps more importantly, what keeps you motivated when leadership becomes difficult?

Understanding that answer may tell you not only whether leadership is part of who you are, but also the kind of leader you hope to become.

I asked local leaders to share what motivates them to lead.

Greg Blythe, president and CEO, IMT Insurance

My approach to leadership has long been influenced by my experiences through sports, both as an athlete and coach. Those experiences reinforced my feelings of pride and satisfaction by being a part of something bigger than individual accomplishments.

As a leader, I am motivated by establishing a clear vision, building a plan, communicating it to the team and empowering them to execute. Along the way, it is gratifying to watch the team work through the nuances of any plan. When things become difficult, it energizes me to mentor or coach the team to keep them focused and confident in our objectives. It is rewarding to see the results and recognize the team for their hard work. I get the most satisfaction in guiding the team and working together to fulfill my role as the leader of the company. There is no greater feeling than leading a winning team!

Steve Bruere, president, Peoples Co.

What motivates me to lead is a vision I’ve held for many years – to build a nationwide farmland platform through Peoples Company that creates long-term value for clients, investors and the communities we serve. Leadership did not come naturally to me; I was more comfortable focused on the work itself than leading others.

Over time, I’ve learned leadership is a discipline that requires daily effort. One of my biggest challenges has been clearly setting expectations and holding people accountable. We’ve built something special with a strong culture, but I haven’t always held others to the standard I expect. That’s something I continue to work on.

What keeps me motivated, especially when it’s difficult, is the responsibility to see the vision through – and to keep improving so our team can reach its full potential.

Nicole Crain, president, Iowa Association of Business and Industry

What motivates me to lead is the desire to make things better, to serve others and to elevate the good things that are happening. I enjoy speaking up and advocating for positions and others, which aligns well with my role representing Iowa businesses.

When leadership becomes difficult, I stay motivated by knowing others are watching and depend on me for guidance. When leadership becomes difficult or I encounter a challenging situation, I view it as a learning opportunity to be better and it keeps me motivated to lead and help others. Regardless of our professional titles or personal circumstances, we can all do hard things. Leadership, like life, is challenging. Difficult situations make us stronger individuals and better leaders.

Dana James, founder and publisher, Black Iowa News

I didn’t necessarily plan to start a company or assume a leadership role. In 2020, I saw a need and acted. The urgency to connect Black Iowans across the state with high-quality, nuanced journalism compelled me to lead. That birthed Black Iowa News, with a mission to highlight Black perspectives, showcase the Black community and amplify the voices of Black Iowans. It’s a mission many Iowans believe in, including my writers, interns and contributors. It’s rewarding to build a purpose-driven small business where collaboration and impact are equally prized.

Operating Black Iowa News requires more than time and energy; it also requires faith. From the changing media landscape to rising costs and declining advertising revenue, there are threats to sustainability. However, the mission to make a difference energizes us. Our faith in journalism as a community good, along with our efforts to uplift our communities, inspires us to persevere through obstacles.

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Leadership Outside the Box is dedicated to exploring the next wave of leadership, fostering out-of-the-box, future-focused thinking for leaders at every level. Through columns, interviews, videos, and real-time observations, I hope to spark your insight, challenge assumptions, and support your growth in the art and science of leadership.

As the founder of Story Board Advisors, and having had the privilege of working for decades as a CEO, board director, executive coach, university faculty and writer, my goal is to help us all think differently, lead intentionally and think about what is ahead, so we can truly make a difference in the world.

I invite you to read along and share your views. You can reach me at sdebaca@storyboardadvisors.com.

I’m proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Please consider being a paid subscriber to my colleagues’ sites. Thank you for your support.

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Every Fourth of July
I return to the same question.

Why do I love this country
when it so often
breaks my heart?

Perhaps because
love has never meant approval.

The people we love
disappoint us.
Families disappoint us.
Even the prairie
burns, floods and withers.

Yet every spring
it begins again,
not because
last year was perfect,
but because life
insists on growing.

Our country
began that way too.

Young and determined,
bold enough
to imagine governing ourselves,
yet unable
to imagine freedom
for everyone.

The founders
were neither heroes
nor villains.

They challenged a king
while leaving
so many voices unheard.

Like most young people,
we grew quickly
and often carelessly,
mistaking expansion
for wisdom,
taking more
than we should,
leaving wounds
that still ask
to be acknowledged.

But that is not
the whole story.

Over generations,
the circle widened
because ordinary people
refused to leave it
as they found it.

Women insisted.
Formerly enslaved people
insisted.
Immigrants,
workers,
neighbors,
dreamers.

Again and again
someone pulled
another chair
to the table.

Now we are older.

Still hopeful.
Still opinionated.
Still divided.
Still trying.

We celebrate.
We grieve.
We march.
We vote.

Some days
it feels as though
we are losing
one another.

Then I remember
the prairie.

Its strength
has never been
what rises above the ground.

It is the roots,
woven together,
holding fast
through drought,
through fire,
through seasons
that seem impossible
to survive.

Perhaps nations
grow that way too.

Not because
they escape failure,
but because
they choose
to keep growing.

So today,
as fireworks bloom
against the summer sky
and children run laughing
with sparklers in their hands,

I ask
a different question.

Not whether
America was ever great,

but whether
I am willing
to help
make her better.

Whether we are.

Perhaps that
has always been
our promise.

Not perfection.
Not arrival.
Only the enduring,
unfinished work
of becoming.

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Image Note: This illustration depicts the legendary moment when Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, known as Molly Pitcher, takes over firing a cannon after her husband collapses during the Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778. A soldier carrying the American flag emerges through the smoke behind her, reinforcing the themes of courage, sacrifice, and patriotism. Created by H. Weston Taylor for Kate Dickinson Sweetser's Ten American Girls from History (1917), the work reflects the dramatic, patriotic style of the early twentieth century. Originally published as a full-color book illustration, it is now in the public domain.

Pushcart Nomination Announcement

My deepest gratitude to the Iowa Poetry Association and Lyrical Iowa 2026 for including my poem “Women With Plants” as one of their Pushcart Prize nominees. This poem was recently recognized with Lyrical Iowa’s Grant Wood Award, as it was inspired by his painting of the same name (above). It is overwhelming to be nominated for the most honored literary project in America. Since 1976, hundreds of presses and thousands of writers of short stories, poetry and essays have been represented in Pushcart’s annual collections (Info: http://pushcartprize.com.) It is an honor to be nominated

Please join me in congratulating my fellow nominees:

• Janvier Abramowitz, Coralville - “Adagio”

• Suzanna de Baca, Huxley - “Women With Plants”

• Margaret Hamilton, Jefferson - “What is a Burl?”

• Millie Malone Lill, Denison - “I am not a diamond”

• Linda Paul, Iowa City - “Never”

• Maeva Shriner, Des Moines - “Accounting”

I’ll share the poem when the anthology is published in the fall!

“BEST SELLER” POETRY BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT! My new poetry collection, You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie, was recently released and is now officially a best seller in the “Death/Grief/Loss” poetry category. Thank you for your many notes sharing what the poems have meant to you.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR AMES, IOWA EVENT: KHOI and Ames Writers Writers Collective will be hosting a book launch event in Ames on July 9, 7 PM at KHOI. Details below.

WHERE TO GET THE BOOK: The book is available locally through Beaverdale Booksand through major online booksellers, including Amazon and Goodreads.

REVIEWS REQUESTED! And if you do read it, one of the kindest things you can do for an independent author is leave a short review on Amazon or Goodreads. To leave a review, simply go to the book’s page on Amazon or Goodreads, click on “Write a Review” or “Rate and Review,” and share a few sentences about what resonated with you. It does not need to be long or formal. Even a few sentences helps other readers discover the book.

EVENTS: If you know of events focused on this topic or groups who might find this collections of interest, please let me know.

I’m proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Please consider being a paid subscriber to my colleagues’ sites. Thank you for your support.

Subscribe now

Book Review: ‘You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie’ by Suzanna de Baca

by John Busbee Jun 24, 2026

Suzanna de Baca instills a subliminal radiance within her debut poetry collection, You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie. Its contents reflect her accumulated experiences from an artist residency at the White Rock Conservancy in Coon Rapids, Iowa. The 5,500 acres of prairie, woodland, pasture and river valley protected along the Middle Raccoon River have served as a beloved destination for many. It is a natural oasis that resists the continued intrusion of development, and subsequent loss, of Iowa’s prairie lands.

During that residency, the White Rock Conservancy reintroduced de Baca to a 8.5-square-mile microcosm of Iowa’s natural beauty. You Were Never Lost translates the whispers of the winds, the dappling of the sunlight and the songs of its animals into a series of poems honoring de Baca’s childhood friend.

De Baca’s Artist Statement openly shares her core inspiration for this book. “After my friend’s death, returning to this place became both an act of mourning and of gratitude. Walking the same trails where we once wandered together, I noticed the prairie differently. Birds, wildflowers, shifting light, and the quiet rhythms of the land offered a language for grief and remembrance.”

You Were Never Lost is a 53-poem collection lovingly threaded through the magic of a small patch of Iowa terrain. The collection beckons readers to convene with others in their circles and share its poems aloud to each other, feeling the rhythm of de Baca’s compositions. Take this ending salvo from “If you veer off the path”: “you are not the first to wander / you are not the first to walk, without knowing / you are not alone / not in the stillness, not in the turning grass, not in the quiet that walks beside you.”

De Baca’s first-person voice feels like a kindred spirit, allowing the reader to join her in nature, feeling the gently shifting breezes and life-affirming sunshine and collecting the multitude of the prairie’s fragrances.

The elements of grief woven throughout add a tinge of melancholy to this land of wonder. De Baca’s frequent stops to take in her surroundings become a meditation on noticing, mourning and remembrance. It encourages the closing of one’s eyes, an accounting of the sense and reflections on the fragility of life.

You Were Never Lost may make you feel like you’ve spent a summer at White Rock Conservancy yourself, and will certainly give you a more potent awareness of your own natural surroundings. Pick up the collection for an enriching poetic panacea from the chaos and cacophony of today’s world, and emerge with a cleansed mindset.

This article was originally published in Little Village’s June 2026 issue.

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“BEST SELLER” POETRY BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT! My new poetry collection, You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie, was recently released and is now officially a best seller in the “Death/Grief/Loss” poetry category. Thank you for your many notes sharing what the poems have meant to you.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR AMES, IOWA EVENT: KHOI and Ames Writers Writers Collective will be hosting a book launch event in Ames on July 9, 7 PM at KHOI. Details below.

WHERE TO GET THE BOOK: The book is available locally through Beaverdale Booksand through major online booksellers, including Amazon and Goodreads.

REVIEWS REQUESTED! And if you do read it, one of the kindest things you can do for an independent author is leave a short review on Amazon or Goodreads. To leave a review, simply go to the book’s page on Amazon or Goodreads, click on “Write a Review” or “Rate and Review,” and share a few sentences about what resonated with you. It does not need to be long or formal. Even a few sentences helps other readers discover the book.

EVENTS: If you know of events focused on this topic or groups who might find this collections of interest, please let me know.

I’m proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Please consider being a paid subscriber to my colleagues’ sites. Thank you for your support.

Subscribe now

A spring storm fills the sky.

Lightning crashes across the tallgrass prairie,
and thunder fills the air
with a rumble so deep
it seems to come
from inside the earth.

The mother bellows,
a primal cry,
announcing what is arriving.

As the storm rages,
new life slides into the world.

The calf drops to the ground
unceremoniously,
hitting the hard plain,
covered in placenta.

The mother bites and pulls,
cleans away blood and slime,
revealing the mystery.

The calf is born
not like the others.

Absent of color,
it stumbles to its feet,
unsure,
unsteady,
knees knocking
and locking
until at last
it finds its footing.

It lows,
an infant's cry,
looking for its mother.

Does the mother see it,
the hue of her calf?

Does she see
her baby is not like the others?

Does she see
the symbolism of difference,
the polarity,
the divine spark
in what is unique,
a sign of hope,
of unity,
of abundance to come.

A month later,
the calf stumbles again.

Then one morning,
it does not rise.

The prairie keeps its silence.

The mother,
udder swollen,
confused,
searches for her calf.

She bellows again.
This time,
with grief
at what is gone.

But does a month of wonder
still hold a promise?

For a month,
the mother walked beside a miracle,
so many miracles.

And we did too.

Perhaps that such a rare thing
happened at all
in this season of storms
is reason enough
for hope.

Author’s Note: In the spring of 2026, an exceptionally rare white bison calf was born within the bison herd at Iowa’s Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge near Prairie City. The birth drew widespread interest and renewed attention to the refuge’s ongoing work to recreate thousands of acres of native tallgrass prairie, one of North America’s most endangered ecosystems. Home to a free-ranging herd since the 1990s, Neal Smith is among a small number of national wildlife refuges where bison once again roam the landscape they helped shape for centuries.

For many Indigenous nations of the Great Plains, the white bison is considered a sacred and powerful symbol, often associated with hope, spiritual renewal, unity, abundance, and the fulfillment of ancient prophecies calling people to live in greater harmony with one another and the natural world.

Read about it here: KCCI, Des Moines Register, Newton Daily News.

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“BEST SELLER” POETRY BOOK ANNOUNCMENT! My new poetry collection, You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie, was recently released and is now officially a best seller in the “Death/Grief/Loss” poetry category. What a shock and wonderful surprise. Thank you for your many notes sharing what the poems have meant to you.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR AMES, IOWA EVENT: KHOI and Ames Writers Writers Collective will be hosting a book launch event in Ames on July 9, 7 PM at KHOI. Details below.

WHERE TO GET THE BOOK: The book is available locally through Beaverdale Booksand through major online booksellers, including Amazon and Goodreads.

REVIEWS REQUESTED! And if you do read it, one of the kindest things you can do for an independent author is leave a short review on Amazon or Goodreads. To leave a review, simply go to the book’s page on Amazon or Goodreads, click on “Write a Review” or “Rate and Review,” and share a few sentences about what resonated with you. It does not need to be long or formal. Even a few sentences helps other readers discover the book.

EVENTS: I am surprised and delighted to be getting some invitations to share my poetry collection at events and groups centered on grief, loss, nature/prairie, or friendship. If you know of events or groups who might find this of interest, please let me know.

I’m proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Please consider being a paid subscriber to my colleagues’ sites. Thank you for your support.

Subscribe now

A chalk drawing in the park
written in looping white letters
on the sidewalk near the swings,

a sentence I could not step over.

Some people are so poor
all they have is money.

I stood there longer than necessary.

Thinking about what we count,
how we count.

Thinking about scale.

How large is a trillion?

A one followed by twelve zeros.

A number so large
it slips free from meaning,
becomes a sound,
a political talking point,
a headline,
a fortune.

A trillion dollars stacked in one-dollar bills
would rise nearly 68,000 miles,
a paper tower reaching
more than a quarter of the way to the moon.

Laid end to end,
those bills would stretch
farther than the distance
between Earth and the sun.

Spread across the ground,
they would blanket thousands of square miles,
covering landscapes,
fences,
front porches,
fields of corn,
the places where ordinary lives unfold.

We measure wealth
by accumulation because accumulation
is easy to count.

Zeros line up obediently.
Columns add.
Balance sheets balance.

But no calculator can tally
a grandmother's voice on the telephone,
a friend's hand on your shoulder,
the dog waiting at the door,
the child who still calls for advice,
the neighbor who waves from the porch
for no reason at all.

The average human body contains
approximately thirty trillion cells,
a number almost as unimaginable
as a trillion dollars.

Tiny living things,
working together
to keep a heart beating.

Perhaps wealth is not what we own,
but what sustains us.

Not what we control,
but what connects us.

The chalk will disappear
with the next hard rain.
The sidewalk will return
to ordinary concrete.

But the question remains,
quiet as dust,

when we reach the end
of our counting,

what will be left
that cannot be measured?

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From today’s New York Times: Elon Musk Becomes the World’s First Trillionaire

With SpaceX shares soaring 20 percent on their first day of trading, the world’s richest person crossed another milestone — one with 13 digits.https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/12/briefing/elon-musk-spacex-us-iran-deal.html

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“BEST SELLER” POETRY BOOK ANNOUNCMENT! My new poetry collection, You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie, was recently released and is now officially a best seller in the “Death/Grief/Loss” poetry category. What a shock and wonderful surprise. I appreciate so many emails sharing that poems have spoken to you!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR AMES, IOWA EVENT: More to come, but KHOI and Ames Writers Writers Collective will be hosting a book launch event in Ames on July 9, at KHOI. It will be a late afternoon reception, program and reading. The program will feature Veronica Lorson Fowler, a well known, Ames-based editor, writer and Master Gardener who is the author of several books and has more than 40 years' experience in publishing and gardening. Thanks to Ana McCracken and Lynne Carey for organizing this and to Veronica for moderating. Details to come.

WHERE TO GET THE BOOK: The book is available locally through Beaverdale Booksand through major online booksellers, including Amazon and Goodreads.

REVIEWS REQUESTED! And if you do read it, one of the kindest things you can do for an independent author is leave a short review on Amazon or Goodreads. To leave a review, simply go to the book’s page on Amazon or Goodreads, click on “Write a Review” or “Rate and Review,” and share a few sentences about what resonated with you. It does not need to be long or formal. Even a few sentences helps other readers discover the book.

I’m proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Please consider being a paid subscriber to my colleagues’ sites. Thank you for your support.

Subscribe now

A sunny Tuesday.
Clear sky. Mid-70s.

I walk the five blocks to the community center, 
driver's license in my pocket, ID for the polls.

This is my hometown.
I returned after many years away.
So much has changed.
And so much hasn't.

I cut through the parking lot of the old apartment complex. 
A man sits on a lawn chair on his balcony, big German Shepard by his side. 
I don’t know him but he waves and I wave back. 
The dog barks, but in a friendly sort of way. 

“Beautiful day,” he says.

“Sure is.”

I pass a teenager weed-whacking along Highway 69. 
A guy in a gray T-shirt rides a mower near the Methodist church.
The smell of fresh-cut grass hangs in the air.

Neighbors who I know vote on different sides 
stand outside the community center, chatting cordially, 
laughing about something. 
The American flag blows gently in the breeze.

Inside, I spot a high school friend checking IDs. She waves.

I hand my license to the woman gesturing to me.
She hands me a folder and directs me to a polling station. 
I mark my choices.
I feed my ballot into the box.

Done.

My high school friend and I catch up for a few minutes.
How's the family?
We should have a ladies' night.
Done deal, I say. 

On the walk home, I pass a little girl on rollerblades, 
wobbling slightly as she holds a cellphone up to her helmet, 
smiling at whoever is on the other end.

I cross through the parking lot by the nail salon and flower shop. 
A teenage girl in cutoff shorts climbs into a beat-up car 
with a back windshield that reads: 
Go Bombers. Win State.

She waves out the window 
to another girl heading into the post office.
"Hey! Way to go!"
They both cheer about something,
fists in the air.
I have no idea what.

The sky is still clear.
Puffy clouds drift overhead.
Another guy is mowing his lawn.

And I realize
this is what I voted for.
Not a candidate.
Not a party.
Not even certainty that my choices will prevail.

I voted for the privilege of having choices at all.
For little girls on rollerblades and teenagers making plans.
For neighbors who stop to chat.
For ordinary Tuesdays.
For the quiet miracle of a community going about its business.
For the right to disagree, to participate and to belong.
For a place where a stranger still waves from a balcony.

This is what I voted for.

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“BEST SELLER” POETRY BOOK ALERT! My new poetry collection, You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie, was recently released and is now officially a best seller in the “Death/Grief/Loss” poetry category. That’s a wonderful surprise!

Thank you to all who came to my launch event in May, who have purchased the book or shared stories of friendship, grief, loss, walking through nature, or your love of the prairie. It is deeply gratifying to hear that the poems are resonating with you.

WHERE TO GET THE BOOK: The book is available locally through Beaverdale Booksand through major online booksellers, including Amazon and Goodreads.

REVIEWS REQUESTED! And if you do read it, one of the kindest things you can do for an independent author is leave a short review on Amazon or Goodreads. To leave a review, simply go to the book’s page on Amazon or Goodreads, click on “Write a Review” or “Rate and Review,” and share a few sentences about what resonated with you. It does not need to be long or formal. Even a few sentences helps other readers discover the book.

I’m proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Please consider being a paid subscriber to my colleagues’ sites. Thank you for your support.

Subscribe now

I ordered new trees
from my high school buddy
who owns a tree business now.

A blaze maple.
A cherry.

Do you have any pear trees
or plums?

Out of plums.

Okay, pear.

So five trees, he says.

What? No. Three.

You gotta buy fruit trees in pairs
so they can pollinate.

I have never purchased fruit trees.
Lucky enough to live on land
where they simply grew.

Still, it made immediate sense.
Scientifically speaking.

Why had I never thought about it before.
Not just reproduction.
Everything needs something nearby
to answer back.

The next morning
the crew arrives
to plant the trees,
earlier than expected.

Did you order five trees?
my husband asks.

Yes.

Why five?

Because fruit trees
refuse to bloom alone.

And someday,
standing in their shared spring white,
we will eat sour cherries
and plump pears
from branches
that learned
how to reach toward one another.

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POETRY BOOK ALERT! My new poetry collection, You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie, was recently released. Thank you to all who came to my launch event, who have purchased the book or shared stories of friendship, grief, loss, walking through nature, or your love of the prairie. It is deeply gratifying to hear that the poems are resonating with you.

WHERE TO GET THE BOOK: The book is available locally through Beaverdale Books and through major online booksellers, including Amazon and Goodreads.

REVIEWS REQUESTED! And if you do read it, one of the kindest things you can do for an independent author is leave a short review on Amazon or Goodreads. To leave a review, simply go to the book’s page on Amazon or Goodreads, click on “Write a Review” or “Rate and Review,” and share a few sentences about what resonated with you. It does not need to be long or formal. Even a few sentences helps other readers discover the book.

I’m proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Please consider being a paid subscriber to my colleagues’ sites. Thank you for your support.

You can listen here to:

The Interview with John Busbee

If You Veer Off the Path

Why Build A Farm Pond (Please note that I state the name of my own book incorrectly on this recording, which I find kind of hilarious!)

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I’m proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Please consider being a paid subscriber to my colleagues’ sites. Thank you for your support.

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Thank you to the incomparable John Busbee, creator of the Culture Buzz, for inviting me to join him to discuss my new poetry collection. John, a fellow Iowa Writers’ Collaborative member, is one of those rare people who brings extraordinary curiosity, warmth, and generosity to every conversation. He has long been a champion of artists, writers, musicians, and creative voices across Iowa and beyond, and he has a remarkable gift for making people feel both seen and heard.

It was a joy to sit down with this cultural icon and reflect on how the book came to life, the experiences that shaped it, and the stories behind the poems. I invite you to check out the interview, including readings of “If You Veer Off the Path” and “Why Build a Farm Pond,” the latter which John specially requested.

Shout outs in this interview to Bob Leonard and Caryn Miriam-Goldberg, who “blurbed” the book, to Liz Garst who invited me to do the Artist in Residence at Whiterock Conservancy that sparked the project, and many others.

You can listen here to:

The Interview with John Busbee:

If You Veer Off the Path

Why Build A Farm Pond (Please note that I state the name of my own book incorrectly on this recording, which I find kind of hilarious!)

Thank you to John for his generous and lovely comments on his site:

Suzanna de Baca infuses her poetry with her keen insights, experiences, and resonance with the natural world in her debut collection, You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie. Listen as Suzanna shares glimpses into her artistry, and be sure to look for two readings she has in The Culture Buzz Podcast Library.

“The poetry of Suzanna de Baca washes over the readers soul with the allure of the prairie’s subtlety. You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie should be read allowed, with others, and let the seeds her lyrical language implants blossom into your own reminiscences.”

- The Culture Buzz

You can purchase “You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie” at this link, locally at Beaverdale Books, or at any online bookseller.

You can check out Whiterock Conservancy’s website here.

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Except… it was actually supposed to go on my leadership/business column, Leadership Outside the Box. I toggle back and forth between the two sites, and somewhere between poetry and leadership content, the publishing gremlins decided to spice things up. I caught it quickly, deleted it, and reposted it in the right place.

But apparently some of you saw it in the wild before it disappeared. I received a surprising number of emails asking where it went and saying it resonated with you, which made me smile. Apparently many poetry lovers also have strong feelings about business (of course).

So, if you’re interested in leadership, workplace culture, and the occasional professional rant alongside the prairie and other poems, I’d love to invite you to check out Leadership Outside the Box too. And here’s the link to the column.

Thanks!

Leadership Outside the Box

Suzanna de Baca – CEO, board director, executive coach, university faculty, writer, and internationally published poet.

By Suzanna de Baca

Leadership Outside the Box

Stop calling it an ‘Ambition Gap’: For women, it’s a reality gap

Stop calling it an ‘Ambition Gap’: For women, it’s a reality gap…

Read more

2 months ago · Suzanna de Baca

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Dear Readers:

Wednesday night felt a little surreal.

The launch party for You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie was overflowing with people, flowers, laughter, prairie stories, old friends, new friends, and more emotion than I was fully prepared for. At several points, I looked around the room and thought: How did this quiet little collection of poems written during walks through prairie trails and river valleys somehow lead to all of this?

For those of you who live far away or could not attend, I wanted to share a few scenes from the evening.

The night began with what felt like a flood of people walking through the doors. Friends from every chapter of my life. Readers. Artists. Nature lovers. Former students. Family. Colleagues. People I had not seen in years. Total strangers. People meeting one another for the first time because of poetry. There was an energy in the room that felt joyful, emotional, and deeply human all at once.

A huge thank you to Jan Kaiser and the team at Beaverdale Books for hosting the evening with such warmth and care, even while navigating a temporary location during renovations. The phenomenal Kelsey Bigelow opened the evening and then facilitated a conversation with me about the backstory of the book, which was the Artist in Residence at Whiterock Conservancy, and the experiences that shaped it. Kelsey brought such intelligence, humor, curiosity, and heart to the conversation, as well as to the creation of the book. I am deeply grateful to her.

Then came the reading itself, accompanied by video with photos I took and sounds from Whiterock Conservancy. Suddenly the room was filled with prairie grasses moving in the wind, birdsong, river water, trees, and poetry all together in one space. Huge thanks to James at Franklin Event Center, who somehow made all the technology work seamlessly and calmly behind the scenes.

One of my favorite moments of the evening came during audience Q&A. There were thoughtful questions about grief, healing, creativity, friendship, and nature, and then Penelope, age 4, raised her hand and asked me my favorite color.

“Green,” I answered immediately, and asked her the same question.

“Hmmm,” she said thoughtfully, squirming a bit. “Pink.”

That may have been the best exchange of the entire night.

I was also especially touched by how many Iowa Writers’ Collaborative friends came out to support the launch, including Doug Burns, Bob Leonard (who generously blurbed the book) Tej Dhawan, Kyle Munson, Diana Wright, Christie Vilsack, Chip Albright, Matt Russell, and Chuck Offenburger (and of course, Kelsey; and sorry if I missed anyone!). Seeing so many people who care deeply about writing, storytelling, journalism, Iowa, and the arts gathered together in one room meant more to me than I can say.

One of the most gratifying parts of the evening was hearing how many people connected personally to the poems. So many shared stories of their own losses, healing journeys, memories of family, love of the prairie, or moments when they too had felt untethered and then found their way back. That is the miracle of poetry, I think. We write from our own specific lives, but somehow the words become a bridge into someone else’s heart.

This book began quietly at Whiterock Conservancy during long walks and periods of reflection when I was trying to pay closer attention to the natural world and to my own inner life. I never imagined the collection would resonate with so many people, and I am profoundly grateful that it has.

To everyone who attended the launch, thank you. Thank you for making the evening so joyful and warm. Thank you for buying books, bringing friends, listening so attentively, and surrounding this book with kindness and encouragement. I will carry that night with me for a very long time.

And to all of you here who read my work regularly, whether you live in Iowa or far beyond it, thank you for being part of this community. Your support over time gave me the courage to publish this collection in the first place.

WHERE TO GET THE BOOK: For those who would like to read the book, You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie is available locally through Beaverdale Books and through major online booksellers, including Amazon and Goodreads.

REVIEWS REQUESTED! And if you do read it, one of the kindest things you can do for an independent author is leave a short review on Amazon or Goodreads. To leave a review, simply go to the book’s page on Amazon or Goodreads, click on “Write a Review” or “Rate and Review,” and share a few sentences about what resonated with you. It does not need to be long or formal. Even a few sentences helps other readers discover the book.

Mostly, though, I simply wanted to say thank you.

I have felt very loved this week, and inspired to do more, share more, listen more, and write more.

With gratitude,

Suzanna

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Soft lilac perfume
Opens doors to vanished days
Still it comes again

Lavender drifting
Through an open, quiet room
Spring finds me anew

Bloom arrives overnight
Scent thick as a held memory
Returns with the light

Petals folded close
Like prayers breathed into spring air
Grace in every breath

Planted there for years
Each bloom a gentle promise
We begin again

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About the Lilac, from Britannica:

lilac, (genus Syringa), genus of about 25 species of fragrant and beautiful northern spring-flowering shrubs and small trees of the olive family (Oleaceae). Lilacs are native to eastern Europe and temperate Asia, and several are widely cultivated. Physical description

Lilac plants are deciduous, with deep green leaves arranged oppositely along the stems. The leaves are usually simple with entire margins, though the leaves of some species are lobed or compound. The small four-petalled flowers are borne in large oval clusters. The fruit is a leathery capsule.

Major species

The common lilac (Syringa vulgaris), from southeastern Europe, is widely grown in temperate areas of the world. There are several hundred named varieties with single or double flowers in deep purple, lavender, blue, red, pink, white, and pale creamy yellow. The common lilac reaches a height of approximately 6 metres (20 feet) and produces many suckers (shoots from the stem or root). It may be grown as a shrub or hedge or, by clearing away the suckers, as a small tree.

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You’re invited to my book launch celebration

Thank you to Beaverdale Books for hosting my book launch. Due to renovation at the book store, the event will be held at:

Franklin Event Center | 4801 Franklin Ave., Des Moines, IA 40310 |

May 13, 2026 | 6:00–8:00 PM | 6:30 PM Program

We’ll gather starting at 6 for an evening of poetry, connection, and community. At 6:30, local spoken word and page poet Kelsey Bigelow and I will have a conversation about the collection and I’ll be sharing a few readings and signing books. If you haven’t pre-ordered yet, you’re welcome to do so ahead of time, or simply come and pick up a copy at the event. I hope to see you there. 💛

👉 Event details here: https://beaverdalebooks.com/event/meet-the-poet-suzanna-de-baca/

👉 To pre-order the book, you can scan the QR code below or CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK.

Thank you for being part of this journey. With gratitude!

Suzanna

I’m proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Please consider being a paid subscriber to my colleagues’ sites. Thank you for your support.

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In the backyard pond
the geese are back,
circling,
water folding in behind them.

The males rise against each other,
wings beating hard at the surface.
The females slip away
into the grass.

One makes a nest 
on the small rise off our deck.
By morning
the eggs are gone.
Grass pressed flat.
Fox, perhaps.
Or raccoon.

She walks the edge of the pond,
stopping,
starting again.

Wood ducks come next,
iridescent throats
catching the light for a second,
like green flares.

Two males rush each other,
low across the water,
touching down
only to strike.

Another nest,
three pale, heavy eggs,
left open to the air.
No sign of her.
Only the weight of them
cooling.

A third goose
holds to a single egg.
Too cold now,
my husband says.

Still
she does not move.

I watch longer than I should.

Today,
the egret returns.

Come look, my husband says,
and we quiet the dog,
step out
onto the porch.

We do not speak.

Across the pond
on the fallen cedar,
that long-ago storm
still holding its shape,
the bird stands.

White
beyond white.
Neck folded
into its slow question,
body balanced
on what should not hold it,
those thin, dark legs.

We have seen it before,
not always,
but enough to remember
this feeling.

It watches.
Hours, perhaps.
The bill, sharp,
lit in yellow,
angles toward water,
then sky.

We say nothing.
As if something
has entered the yard
that does not belong to us,
something that sees
the empty nests,
the waiting birds,
the restless wings,
and holds them
all at once.

The crows call,
impatient.

The egret
does not answer.

Then,
it lifts.

Slow at first,
wings opening wider than expected,
and for a moment
it is only white
against everything that isn’t.
Then gone.

And the pond
goes on holding
what remains.

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You’re invited to my book launch celebration

Thank you to Beaverdale Books for hosting my book launch. Due to renovation at the book store, the event will be held at:

Franklin Event Center | 4801 Franklin Ave., Des Moines, IA 40310 |

May 13, 2026 | 6:00–8:00 PM | 6:30 PM Program

We’ll gather starting at 6 for an evening of poetry, connection, and community. At 6:30, local spoken word and page poet Kelsey Bigelow and I will have a conversation about the collection and I’ll be sharing a few readings and signing books. If you haven’t pre-ordered yet, you’re welcome to do so ahead of time, or simply come and pick up a copy at the event. I hope to see you there. 💛

👉 Event details here: https://beaverdalebooks.com/event/meet-the-poet-suzanna-de-baca/

👉 To pre-order the book, you can scan the QR code below or CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK.

Thank you for being part of this journey. With gratitude!

Suzanna

I’m proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Please consider being a paid subscriber to my colleagues’ sites. Thank you for your support.

Subscribe now

Tracks by the River 

After the rain
the earth is soft
and telling.
The trail curves near the creek, 
and everywhere,
tracks press into mud
like artists’ signatures
on the bottom
of clay pots.

Raccoon.
Five-toed, deliberate,
a tiny palm outstretched, 
ready to form a cup.

Fox.
Tight and narrow,
her print a diamond sewn into the path 
to her fountain.

Skunk.
Broad, close-set, petite prints, 
claws leaving a tiny circle
ahead of the toes, like dotting an i, 
leaning to sip.

Deer.
Delicate hooves, 
cloven like split hearts, 
moving in pairs toward the bank.
Fawn trailing
her mother.

Coyote.
soft pad, larger than a dog, 
the same four claws.
He must have come at dawn, 
marks fading at the edges.

And mine.
Small boots sunk deep, 
not in straight line,
slow from bending
and circling, looking 
instead of moving on.
I am not here for the drink.

Our tracks are thick
on the path by the water.
Not like the pasture above,
where grass springs back,
or the meadow,
where nothing holds a shape for long.

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YOU ARE INVITED TO MY LAUNCH CELEBRATION!

Thank you to Beaverdale Books for hosting my book launch. Due to renovation at the book store, the event will be held at:

Franklin Event Center | 4801 Franklin Ave., Des Moines, IA 40310 |

May 13, 2026 | 6:00–8:00 PM | 6:30 PM Program

We’ll gather starting at 6 for an evening of poetry, connection, and community. At 6:30, local spoken word and page poet Kelsey Bigelow and I will have a conversation about the collection and I’ll be sharing a few readings and signing books. If you haven’t pre-ordered yet, you’re welcome to do so ahead of time, or simply come and pick up a copy at the event. I hope to see you there. 💛

👉 Event details here: https://beaverdalebooks.com/event/meet-the-poet-suzanna-de-baca/

👉 To pre-order the book, you can scan the QR code below or CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK.

Thank you for being part of this journey. With gratitude!

Suzanna

I’m proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Please consider being a paid subscriber to my colleagues’ sites. Thank you for your support.

Subscribe now

I arrived at Logan Airport with a suitcase in my hand,
paisley, soft-sided, the kind with a handle instead of wheels.
It sagged a little, like it knew more than I did.

Inside it, disguises.
Secondhand suits and almost-new seams from the consignment shop off Lover’s Lane in Dallas,
where the Highland Park ladies shed their lives like skins
and someone like me could step into them,
conjuring an impression.

In my second hand purse, twenty dollars,
creased and patient.
In my pocket, coins, a thin weather of sound,
nothing but hope pretending to be weight.

They said education would carry me forward,
would give me a door where there had only been exits.
So I left behind the rest,
paintbrushes stiff with almost-color,
poetry books heavy with rooms I could no longer afford to enter.

Valencia Street stayed behind me,
the apartment with its broken glass memory,
the nights cut open by sirens,
the quiet of electricity turned off like a verdict.

I dragged the suitcase through the terminal,
stopping often, as if breath itself had become something to budget.
August pressed in, late, humid, unkind.

On the bus I held the purse close,
as if it might decide to leave without me.
We moved through a tunnel,
dark, narrowing, a held breath of the city,
and then, suddenly, the other side.

The Charles River,
wide and waiting,
like something that might forgive me
for arriving with so little.

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Grateful and excited to share the publication of my new collection of poetry, “You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie,” available in pre-order now and on sale May 13.

👉 To pre-order the book, you can the QR code below or go to this link: https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?params=VCfd0l2TvjkAvWneJYTZx5mGnprEmP4YHVg8PZjsQhv

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Prairie fire burns

with the heat of emptiness

clearing space for growth

This poem appears in my new book You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie. I snapped the photos during a controlled burn at Whiterock Conservancy in Western Iowa in March of this year.

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Dear Dispatches from the Heartland Readers 💛:

Thank you, always, for being here with me. After sharing the news of my upcoming book launch for You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie, I’ve felt such an outpouring of support, and I’m deeply grateful to everyone who has already pre-ordered.

I have a quick update to share. Due to exciting renovations at Beaverdale Books, the space will be getting new flooring installed on the day of our event. Because of that, the launch celebration has been relocated to:

Franklin Event Center | 4801 Franklin Ave., Des Moines, IA 40310 |

May 13, 2026 | 6:00–8:00 PM | 6:30 PM Program

The celebration is very much still on and everyone is invited.

We’ll gather for an evening of poetry, connection, and community. Local spoken word and page poet Kelsey Bigelow and I will have a conversation about I’ll be sharing readings from, signing books, and celebrating this moment together. If you haven’t pre-ordered yet, you’re welcome to do so ahead of time, or simply come and pick up a copy at the event.

I hope to see you there. 💛

👉 Event details here: https://beaverdalebooks.com/event/meet-the-poet-suzanna-de-baca/

Thank you for being part of this journey. It is so meaningful to share it with you.

With gratitude!

Suzanna

👉 To pre-order the book, you can the QR code below, click on the image below, or this link:

https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?params=VCfd0l2TvjkAvWneJYTZx5mGnprEmP4YHVg8PZjsQhv

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I’m proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Please consider being a paid subscriber to my colleagues’ sites. Thank you for your support.

Dear Dispatches from the Heartland Readers 💛

I’m still riding the wave of gratitude after announcing my book launch last week. Thank you so much to everyone who has already pre-ordered. Your support means more to me than I can say.

Now, I’d love to celebrate with you in person.

Please mark your calendars and join me for the launch party at Beaverdale Books:

May 13, 2026
6:00–8:00 PM

Beaverdale Books
2629 Beaver Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50310

We’ll gather, share poems, and celebrate this moment together. I hope you can make it.

👉 Event details here: https://beaverdalebooks.com/event/meet-the-poet-suzanna-de-baca/

Thank you for being part of this journey. It means everything to share it with you.

With gratitude!

Suzanna

👉 To pre-order the book, you can the QR code below, click on the image below, or this link:

https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?params=VCfd0l2TvjkAvWneJYTZx5mGnprEmP4YHVg8PZjsQhv

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I’m proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Please consider being a paid subscriber to my colleagues’ sites. Thank you for your support.

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Dear Dispatches from the Heartland Readers:

As I shared last week, I’m excited to tell you that I have a collection of my poems coming out. It is called You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie.

Today I’m sharing the cover with you, and also the publication date. The book is now available for pre-order and will be officially released on May 13.

Much of this book was written outside, in moments of stillness, while I was trying to understand loss and what it means to keep going. The prairie became a place of listening and, over time, a place of quiet revelation.

This collection brings together reflections on nature, grief, acceptance, and resilience. It does not try to resolve those experiences. It simply stays with them.

It feels both wonderful and a little vulnerable to share this with you, especially because this community has been part of my writing life for so long.

The book is now available for presale if you would like to be among the first to receive it. You can preorder using the QR code below.

I am so grateful for all the encouragement from all of you. It has meant more than you know. Special thanks to Julie Gammack and the entire Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, especially Kelsey Bigelow, Bob Leonard and IWC “Group 3,” who made this project a reality.

Thank you for reading and for being part of this with me.

Suzanna

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I’m proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Please consider being a paid subscriber to my colleagues’ sites. Thank you for your support.

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A small craft,
no larger than a child’s toy, at first glance,
threads its way through the vast, indifferent dark.

It does not rush.
It does not announce itself.
It simply moves
past the cold scatter of stars,
around the quiet gravity of the moon,
toward the waiting blue of home.

An umbrella opens,
fragile, improbable,
and yet enough.
Enough to slow a fall
from the edge of human ambition
into the familiar arms of the sea.

We name her Artemis,
as we have always named our reaching
after something older than ourselves.
Once, she belonged to forests,
to the tension of bowstring and breath,
to the sharp awareness of survival.
A guardian of thresholds,
of birth, of wilderness,
of the space between what is known
and what must be entered anyway.

Now she travels differently.
No deer at her side,
no chorus of nymphs,
only engineers, calculations,
and the quiet courage of those
who leave and trust return.

Still, the meaning holds.
To cross a boundary.
To endure the passage.
To come back changed,
and to call that change progress,
or hope.

The capsule dips,
not into myth,
but into water,
real, cold, 
and sustaining.

And in that moment,
ancient names and modern hands
meet without contradiction,
the human story continuing.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/watch-live-artemis-ii-crew-splashes-down-on-earth-after-historic-trip-around-the-moon

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/artemis-ii-splashdown-return/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/04/10/artemis-ii-splashdown-updates--live/89523233007/

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I’m proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Please consider being a paid subscriber to my colleagues’ sites. Thank you for your support.

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