2025’s slate of FTRS featured readers begins on January 30 with Gail Lynn, author of the memoir Bell Bottom Blues. Gail grew up in Janesville in the 1970s during a tumultuous era when youth culture had disrupted conventions and redefined what growing up meant. It was an exciting and confusing time, and Gail captures it by documenting her 14th summer, a time when she was still a girl but experiencing all the complexities of adult life. Check out the Spotify playlist of music referenced in Bell Bottom Blues.
The Final Thursday Reading Series takes place at the Hearst Center for the Arts in Cedar Falls, Iowa. There will be an open mic at 7:00 p.m. (bring your best five minutes of original creative writing). Gail Lynn takes the stage at 7:30. The featured reading will also be simulcast on Zoom. Click HERE to register for a link.
Interview by Jim O’Loughlin.
JIM O’LOUGHLIN: What initially led you to focus Bell Bottom Blues on the summer of 1972?
GAIL LYNN: Bell Bottom Blues exists BECAUSE of the summer of 1972. Initially, I thought that summer was significant because of the young hippie I had a crush on and the heartbreak that resulted. Although that is partly true, the more I wrote the more I realized there was much more to that summer. Yet Bell Bottom Blues would not exist without the heartbreak I experienced that summer.
JO: The rock music of the era plays a big role in this book. Can you talk about its importance to you as a teenager?
GL: Music was a constant in my life, and still is today. I was a shy and lonely teenager and music, along with television and movies, were my companions. They comforted me. I could count on them when family and friends let me down. Music in particular is such an emotional experience and that emotion made me feel more connected to it.
JO: What are the aspects of the 1970s that seem most different from today, and which seem most familiar?
GL: It was a simpler time in many ways. Of course, that wasn’t all good. I think parenting has changed for the better. People are generally more aware of what good parenting is. In the ‘70s we never used seatbelts or proper car seats. My father who suffered from PTSD would have been more likely today to get treatment, which may have resulted in being a more present father and husband. One thing I feel hasn’t changed is how teenagers respond to music. Although music is more varied today and is acquired differently, the emotional connection is still there.
JO: One of the things that I most admire about this book is that you capture the perspective of “Gail at 14” and resist the temptation to look back with the hindsight of an adult to comment or correct. Was that something you did consciously, or did you find the process of writing just led to that?
GL: It was definitely a conscious effort on my part, and it wasn’t easy. Once I got into that mindset, it became easier.
