International Writing Program welcomes 37 writers to Iowa City, kicks off 45th year

Last Thursday, writers representing 32 nations gathered at the Iowa City home of Christopher Merrill, director of the University of Iowa's International Writing Program (IWP). They'd come from as far away as Tibet, Finland, Argentina, and South Africa, and all were gathered on the Merrills' sprawling lawn for their official introduction to the community.

Since its founding in 1967, the IWP has brought over 1,200 writers from over 130 nations to Iowa City for its fall residency program, providing its participants the opportunity to share and translate their work, to give public talks and readings, and to interact creatively, socially, and intellectually with one another and with the community.

Following introductory remarks by Merrill, University of Iowa President Sally Mason welcomed the visitors on behalf of the University and invited them to take part in the cultural and literary life of Iowa City. Noting that Iowa City is the only U.S. City of Literature in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, Mason said that there was “no better place for a group of talented writers to spend three months living and writing.”

The writers then took turns at the microphone, briefly introducing themselves and their work to the approximately 200-person audience of faculty, staff, writers, community members, and members of the media.

As one might expect in a group of writers from across the globe, a wide range of experience and interests were on display during the writers' introductions. “This group seems to be our most diverse since I started working at the IWP,” said the program's Fall Residency Coordinator, Joe Tiefenthaler, who has worked for the program in various capacities since 2005. “There are more women than men, by far; more vegetarians; more languages represented; more blog writers; and besides being writers they are also aid workers, film subtitlers, BBC correspondents, biodiversity experts, archeologists, architects, filmmakers, nonprofits founders, politicians, international affairs experts, diplomats, and more.”

“Year after year, it is clear the IWP sets a high standard for recruiting interesting and exceptional writers from an array of backgrounds to attend the fall program,” said Andre Perry, executive director of the Englert Theatre in Iowa City, who was in attendance at the opening reception. “This year is no different: I was thoroughly impressed by the writers I talked to at the opening ceremony and plan learn more about them in the weeks to come.”

Over the course of the residency, participants are encouraged to attend talks, readings, and classes, and are provided the opportunity to share their work through public presentations and lectures.

Each Wednesday night this fall, an IWP resident will introduce a film of his or her choice in room E105 of the Adler Journalism Building at the University of Iowa as part of the IWP's Cinemathèque series. “Their perspective on what's important in contemporary cinema is often quite different from that of film scholars on one hand and mall audiences on the other,” says Nataša ?urovi?ová, editor at the IWP. Of this fall's schedule, ?urovi?ová says, “There will be a mix of formal, documentary, and experimental work and more traditional films.”

Next Wednesday, Sept. 14th the series will screen South Korean director Choi Ha-Won's 1969 film An Old Potter, which will be introduced by novelist, film scholar, and IWP fall resident Park Chan-soon.

Other opportunities for public interaction with the IWP and its writers include a weekly panel discussion on Fridays at noon at the Iowa City Public Library, where IWP writers will address a range of topics, from “9/11: 10 Years Later” (on Sept. 9th) to “Genre Lit: Bodice Rippers, Aliens and High Form?” (on Oct. 7th); the Shambaugh House Reading Series, where, every Friday evening at 5 p.m., two IWP participants will read from their work; and weekly readings at Prairie Lights Books in Iowa City, where at 4 p.m. on Sundays, two IWP participants will read alongside another writer, typically a student at the Iowa Writers' Workshop or at the non-fiction Workshop at the University of Iowa.

When asked how the writers are faring after a week of introductions, new surroundings, orientation programs, and an initial round of talks and readings, Tiefenthaler says, “There is such a flurry of events their first week in Iowa City, that disorientation is quite common-a bad combination with the jet lag. Structurally, Labor Day couldn't come on any better date for the writers. The holiday-nature of this second week of the residency really allows the writers to stretch out their legs and settle in,” he says. “It's really the first time they catch their breath, and become a part of Iowa City.”

More information on the International Writing Program, its current resident writers, and the many events the program will sponsor this fall, please visit: http://iwp.uiowa.edu and/or you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter (@UIIWP).