Cathmar Shaw Prange

Cathmar Prange is the only daughter of John MacKay Shaw. As a child, her father often sang, read and wrote poems for her, her brother, and her cousin. Cathmar fondly recalls the poems her father would personally write to her. All she had to do was think of a topic, tell him, and then she would watch her father start typing away on the typewriter. Though John Shaw would often read the stories of Robert Louis Stevenson, A.A. Milne, and Lewis Caroll, Cathmar proudly admits that her favorite reads came from her father’s personal collection. Cathmar states that her father’s collection has influenced her now more than ever before.

 Every winter since 1997, she has returned to Tallahassee to escape the cold winters of Iowa. Cathmar can often be found in Special Collections with the Shaw Collection. Back in Iowa, she is part of the National League of American Pen Women. Established in 1976, the Pen Women serve as an outlet for female writers of the area to communicate on a wide variety of topics. Cathmar is also a painter, with a studio in Monticello, and opened an exhibition this past April.