As the United States reopens embassies all over the Middle East and Africa, 34 writers from 31 countries and territories—including Egypt, Yemen, Pakistan, Bahrain, and Iran—prepare to travel to Iowa City (the only UNESCO City of Literature in the United States) to prove that the arts—literature, in particular—know no borders.
The writers, representing every continent except Antarctica, have all won coveted spots in the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program (IWP) annual Fall Residency, a 10-week all-inclusive creative residency that includes travel and literary and cultural events as well as time and space to write.
A “United Nations of Writers,” the residency dates back to 1967 when Paul Engle, longtime director of the famed Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and his wife, Chinese novelist Hualing Nieh, created the IWP as a way to support writers and strengthen their creative networks, regardless of national origin.
A year of firsts
The 2013 IWP residency includes the first-ever participants from three nations: Yemen, Bahrain, and Burundi, as well as the first writer from Portugal since 1968, playwright and multimedia artist Patrícia Portela. Portela will also serve as the first-ever IWP Community Engagement Fellow, reaching out to the Iowa community and blogging about the residency experience.
“It’s always eye-opening to host writers from countries that have been historically underrepresented,” says IWP fall residency coordinator Joe Tiefenthaler. “It’s a chance to hear from regions we don’t read much about, which really adds to the around-the-the-world-in-10-weeks effect of the residency.”
The weekly schedule of free public events in Iowa includes 4 p.m. Sunday readings at landmark independent bookseller Prairie Lights, and the Wednesday night Cinématheque, an international film screening and discussion series.
Besides participating in the UNESCO Iowa City Book Festival (Oct. 11-13) and Global Express, a black-box theatre showcase of IWP playwrights’ work (Oct. 13), writers will get a chance to explore Iowa with a trip to the rodeo, hayrides, and Hawkeye football, and participate extensively in classes (including a University of Iowa international translation workshop) and engage with community groups.
Many of the public readings and events are live streamed for Internet viewing. A calendar of upcoming events will be posted at iwp.uiowa.edu/calendar.
Writers will also travel to New Orleans, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York City, and other U.S. cities to give readings, participate in festivals, and engage with readers and students of all ages. In 2012, IWP residents participated in 165 events in 32 cities.
“The seeds of many lifelong literary friendships are planted during these 10 weeks. Even when their countries don’t see eye to eye, writers always find ways to share stories and ideas,” says IWP director Christopher Merrill. “The creative and cultural exchange that takes place here in Iowa is a reminder that as writers they are also citizens of the world.”
The writers begin arriving in Iowa Aug. 24. The first public events are scheduled for Friday, Aug. 30th. Press inquiries, including requests for interviews, should be directed to ashley-r-davidson@uiowa.edu. Direct requests for readings, campus visits, and other public appearances should go to joe-tiefenthaler@uiowa.edu.
The IWP fall residency is organized in partnership with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the U.S. Department of State, with support from the Arts Council of Ireland, Arts Council Korea, Canada Council for the Arts, Creative New Zealand, Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, Hong Kong National Arts Council Singapore, the Japan Foundation, Korea Literature Translation Institute, Kuwait Ministry of Youth, the Max Kade Foundation, the Open Society Institute, the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation, Taiwan Ministry of Culture, UNESCO Dublin, United States-Israel Educational Foundation, and American embassies in Iraq, the Philippines, Cote D’Ivoire, and Uganda.
Participating writers
- A Lai (China)
- Sawsan Al-Areeqe (Yemen)
- Nada Faris (Kuwait)
- Karim Alrawi (Canada/UK/Egypt)
- Ali Al Saeed (Bahrain)
- Mark Angeles (Philippines)
- Rodrigo Blanco Calderón (Venezuela)
- Craig Cliff (New Zealand)
- Tom Crosshill (Latvia)
- Martin Dyar (Ireland)
- Dmitry Golynko (Russia)
- Whiti Hereaka (New Zealand)
- Kim Kyung Uk (South Korea)
- Kim Seoryung (South Korea)
- Amanda Lee Koe (Singapore)
- Dénes Krusovszky (Hungary)
- Lee Chi-leung (Hong Kong)
- Zeyar Lynn (Burma)
- Teemu Manninen (Finland)
- Lili Mendoza (Panama)
- Shandana Minhas (Pakistan)
- Mahsa Mohebali (Iran)
- Asma Nadia (Indonesia)
- Corinne N’guessan (Cote D’Ivoire)
- Patrícia Portela (Portugal)
- Oscar Ranzo (Uganda)
- Roland Rugero (Burundi)
- Muhamed Abdelnabi (Egypt)
- Sridala Swami (India)
- Yui Tanizaki (Japan)
- Tong Wei Ger (Taiwan)
- Simon Urban (Germany)
- Erez Volk (Israel)
- Wang Jiaxin (China)