Author to offer presentation of book based on WWII experience of Nebo’s Philip Zumwalt
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By DAVID CAMPHOUSE
Submitted photo
Barry Lee Swanson
The Pike County All Wars Museum will host author Barry Lee Swanson to read from and discuss his book Still Points on Tuesday, April 26, from 4-6 p.m..
Still Points is based on the memoirs of the experiences leading up to WWII and the WWII experiences of Nebo resident Philip Zumwalt. Zumwalt was the uncle of the author’s wife.
According to Pike County All Wars Museum Curator and Pike County Historical Society Board Member Bob Norris, the book written by Swanson of Zumwalt’s life is largely based on historical fact.
“This was written largely from the journals that Philip Zumwalt kept during his service,” Norris said.
Norris went on to say that writing a work of historical fiction involves taking certain liberties with elements of the historical record that hadn’t been directly recorded. In addition, Norris said, for narrative purposes, historical fiction writers must also leave certain elements of a story out.
“This is historical fiction,” Norris said. “Like any historical research, you can’t print everything. You try to pick certain things that are important to carry the story forward.”
Norris said that successful works of historical fiction leave the essence of historical events intact, while allowing for poetic license to fill in at points not captured by original sources or official records.
“The book uses fiction to change or fill in words that may have been used,” Norris said. “It’s adding detail to tie the story together. You take situations and scenarios that may or may not have happened to tie things together to help the overall story.”
The book’s press kit offers the following preview of the story:
Submitted photo
Barry Lee Swanson will read from his historical fiction book, Still Points, at the Pike County All Wars Museum on Tuesday, April 26, from 4-6 p.m. The book is the fictionalized account of Nebo’s Philip Zumwalt’s WWII service and his life directly leading up to the war. Swanson will be available to greet the public and sign books at the event.
“Philip Zumwalt is an accomplished musician, poet, and idealist—a dreamer. Fresh out of college in 1940, he takes a job as a music teacher in a small, rural Illinois town. His plan is to teach for a few years to save enough money to finance his dreams: go to Chicago to become a professional musician and get his pilot’s license. These dreams dominate his thoughts until one summer night when he meets Elinor Robinson.
Philip and Elinor’s forbidden romance and the specter of war hanging over the country put Philip’s dream on hold. When he enlists in the Army Air Force, the gifted artist goes on an unpredictable journey of lost innocence.Life and death hang in the balance as he overcomes his fears and spiritual doubts in a desperate effort to survive aerial combat in the maelstrom of the Southwest Pacific Theater.In the end, a single dream remains for Philip: to return home to the woman he loves.
Based upon the World War II diaries of the real PhilipZumwalt, this debut novel is a bittersweet tale of the transcendent power of love and reminds us of the immense sacrifices made by the men and women of that era.”
Norris went on to say that Zumwalt was a side gunner and radar man on bombers in the Pacific Theater of WWII, and on the cusp of returning home after flying over 80 successful missions, Zumwalt was killed in a runway accident in New Guineau, when a wallaby caused a calamitous explosion, claiming the lives of Zumwalt and others.
“Hollywood couldn’t have written the story,” Norris said.
Following a 30-45 minute reading and discussion, Swanson will be available to greet the public and sign copies of his book.
Barry Lee Swanson is a writer and Assistant Professor Emeritus from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. He received his Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Illinois Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in educational administration from Western Illinois University He has served as president of the Carl Sandburg Historic Site Association and was a founding member of the Galesburg Public Art Commission, has published various articles and poetry for regional publications, and co-authored a textbook for a course in educational studies. Currently, he writes a column for a local newspaper in his hometown of Galesburg, Illinois, and is in the process of writing his second novel. Preceding his professorship at Knox, he served in the United States Army, was an English teacher, basketball coach, and school administrator. He also served as a full-time lecturer in the College of Education at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, where he earned his Doctor of Education degree.
