PROGRAM DESCRIPTION, 2009 Session
Program Dates: August 29 - November 17, 2009
THE INTERNATIONAL WRITING PROGRAM (IWP)brings to the University of Iowa outstanding authors from every continent. Each fall, 25-35 writers gather in Iowa City to work on their own projects, to give readings and lectures, to travel in the US, and to interact with American audiences and the literary community. We are the oldest and largest multinational writing residency in the world, with a tradition of literary excellence that has continued for more than four decades.
Since 1967, we have brought over 1,200 writers from 120 nations to this country. The goal of the IWP is to provide authors with time and space—to write, read, translate, study, conduct research, travel, give readings, stage work, and become part of the community at the University of Iowa. We provide the setting for cultural exchange and arrange opportunities for the writers’ participation in the academic life of a major American research university situated within the vibrant literary community of Iowa City. IWP writers share their literary cultures with others and establish contacts with the larger American publishing scene. For many of the participants, the IWP residency is their first stay in the United States.
In 2008, Iowa City was officially recognized as a UNESCO ‘City of Literature,’ the first such designation to be granted to a city in the Americas. The distinction engages Iowa City, and the University of Iowa, with a worldwide network of artists and cultural leaders. It is a relationship that will give rise, over the years, to exciting new projects and collaborations across borders.
The 42nd consecutive session of the IWP is scheduled to take place August 29 - November 17, 2009. Where funding is available, visiting scholars and writers are welcome to complete the entire semester in residence at the University of Iowa.
Criteria for Selection
- The candidate should be primarily a writer of fiction, poetry, drama, or screenplays. Literary translators, and writers whose publications and careers focus on nonfiction (journalism, cultural commentary, biography, memoir) are also welcome.
- The candidate should not be a resident of the United States or currently in residence in the US.
- The candidate should have at least one published volume, or works that have appeared in significant publications (anthologies, journals, literary magazines), over a period of at least two years.
- Some prior form of national or local recognition for the candidate’s literary achievements is desired.
- The candidate must have a facility in speaking English sufficient to profit from a three-month writing residency where intensive discussion of literary and cultural issues forms a vital part of the interaction. Much of the experience of being in a community of international writers is lost if the candidate is not reasonably proficient in English upon arrival.
- The program seeks candidates who are comfortable with cross-cultural dynamics and interested in close interaction with artists from diverse cultures. On the other hand, participants have at their disposal a fair amount of unstructured time where they determine their own schedules. A candidate's flexibility and tolerance should be matched to a degree with independence and self-motivation.
Program overview
Writers are encouraged to pursue individual writing projects; however, a finished project is not a requirement of the residency. The program provides many opportunities for the writers to take part in the university’s academic life. Monday and Friday afternoons are reserved for literary activities; excursions, field trips, and social gatherings take place on most Saturdays, and the IWP sponsors readings by IWP writers on Friday and Sunday afternoons. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are generally kept free for writers to write and conduct research.
Readings by US and international writers of note are held almost nightly at the University of Iowa and in Iowa City. Between late August and mid-December, 2008, there were over 100 literary and theater events. Notable readers and performers have included Jonathan Ames, Mary Jo Bang, Ishmael Beah, Michael Cunningham, Andre Dubus III, Louise Glück, Richard Kenney, Chuck Klosterman, Michael Palmer, Shimada Masahiko, Curtis Sittenfeld, Marilynne Robinson, Sarah Vowell, and Francine Prose. Opportunities for interaction with visiting authors arise through informal receptions and small-group discussion sessions.
The IWP works closely with other writing units at the University of Iowa, including the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, the Nonfiction Writing Program, the MFA Program in Translation, and the Playwrights’ Workshop. In addition, the program enjoys productive relationships with academic programs in Film Studies, Comparative Literature, and African, Asian, Latin American and European literatures. Each year the IWP fields dozens of invitations for our writers to visit classrooms as lecturers or conference presenters.
The Iowa portion of the residency will run from August 29 to November 11, 2009. For participants with the appropriate funding, the IWP will arrange four days of domestic travel at the residency’s midpoint; and an additional week of travel following the Iowa residency. The travel periods give writers opportunities to confer with professional translators, publishers, and colleagues; to give talks or readings at other institutions; and to conduct work-related research in cities with major literary markets. The mid-residency travel period typically takes writers to cities in the western and southern United States for tourism and cultural programming. In 2008, writers traveled to San Francisco, CA; New Orleans, LA, and Miami, FL; locations for 2009 are to-be-determined. The post-residency travel period begins in Washington, D.C. and ends in New York City.
Fall Residency Activities
- International Literature Today.This upper-level university course centers on the work of International Writing Program participants. Each week different IWP writers speak to their own writing and to the relationship between their works and the literary scenes in their home countries. The two-hour class is held each Monday afternoon.
- Weekly Public Panels. These panels present discussions on literary issues and on the influences and forces shaping writing around the world. Topics in the past have included“Writing Across Languages,” “The Migrant as Figure in Literature Today,” “What Matters Now: Social Change in the World,” and “Images of America.” These Friday afternoon discussions draw audiences from across the university and the local community. In addition, they are broadcast on local television.
- The International Translation Workshop. Graduate-level students of creative writing, translation, and comparative literature work one-on-one with IWP writers in a classroom setting. The class meets on Friday afternoons throughout the semester.
- Readings and performances. A series of weekly readings, in cooperation with the Writers' Workshop and the Nonfiction Writing Program, is held at Prairie Lights Books on Sunday afternoons. The IWP hosts a second series of readings on late Friday afternoons in the Shambaugh House, often in a bilingual format. In addition, numerous individual and small-group readings are scheduled throughout the residency, through the sponsorship of foreign-language departments or other groups. Because Iowa City is uniquely nurturing of creative writing, readings occur almost every night of the week, in coffeehouses, arts centers, restaurants, and other public venues.
- Playwrights' program. The IWP arranges opportunities for the works of its playwrights and performance artists to be read and staged on campus. The main venue for this is “Global Express.” During this evening of staged readings, 10-15 minute excerpts and pieces written by IWP writers are read by actors from the University’s Division of Performing Arts.
- The IWP Cinematheque. Writers in residence are encouraged to introduce and lead a discussion of a film of their choice. This can become the opportunity to bring little-known works to the local film audiences and film scholars.
- Cultural activities and field trips. The participants receive complimentary tickets and invitations to numerous cultural events. Past field trips included visits to the Amana Colonies, the Meskwaki Indian Settlement, a rodeo, and Native American burial grounds overlooking the Mississippi River. Traditionally hospitality is offered by local families. Trips to nearby Kalona and to Chicago are also planned.
- Community interaction. A significant part of the program involves individual and small-group visits to homes of faculty or community members, talks given by writers for area groups such as the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council, visits to local schools, and trips to speak or read in the state of Iowa and elsewhere. These trips are arranged in a variety of ways and we encourage participants to use these opportunities to experience “(the lives of) average Americans."
Facilities
- The IWP will work with visiting writers to arrange appropriate housing for their stay. Depending on available funding, visitors will lodge at one of a variety of locally owned hotels, inns, or guest houses in Iowa City. A limited number of local, and/or University leased apartments may also become available. A full listing of available housing options and their amenities will come together by summer 2009. Many IWP writers will live at the Iowa House Hotel, located on campus in the Iowa Memorial Union (IMU). Other IMU facilities include cafeterias, the Bijou movie theatre, a university bookstore, and numerous meeting and event rooms. The IWP participants will have a common room in the Iowa House to use for their own informal gatherings.
- Visitors are encouraged to bring their own laptop computer or software. If necessary, the program can arrange for the rental of a university-owned computer for the duration of the residency. The University’s Information and Technology Services department offers discounts to university community members on some new computers.
- Program participants will hold visiting-scholar privileges at the University of Iowa, which will provide them with access to the state-of-the-art university libraries as well as other research and recreational facilities on campus. We will assist those who would like to visit classes and to make use of the University’s professional resources as needed.
- If the writer receives an invitation to another institution for a lecture, reading, or a professional consultation within the United States, the program will help coordinate the arrangements.
- Whenever possible, the IWP will identify or advise about potential contacts in publishing and theater.
- The IWP will keep ten to fifteen pages of the writer's translated and/or edited work posted on its web site for use in classes, readings, or as potentially publishable material.
Further information
For any information about the application process specific to individual countries, and further information about the program, please contact:
Mr. Hugh Ferrer
Associate Director
International Writing Program
Shambaugh House
University of Iowa
Iowa City IA 52242-2020
USA
Phone: (319) 335-3856
Fax: (319) 335-3843
E-mail:
hugh-ferrer@uiowa.edu