2008 News Archive
December 2008
Our condolences, and those of her 2008 IWP fellows, to Ruby Rahman (IWP 2008) whose husband and son fell victim to an apparent political assassination. during her absence.
See also and here.
We mourn our friend and colleague, the Italian novelist Rocco Carbone (IWP 2001), who died in an accident in Rome on July 18, 2008.
October 2008
The South-African novelist Zachariah Rapola (IWP 00) is the recipient of the 2008 Noma Prize, awarded by the prominent Japanese Kodansha House to an African work published in Africa, for his collection Beginnings of Dream
This fall, the shortlist for the distinguished Man Asian Literature Award features two IWP alumni: the Indian novelist Kavery Nambisan (IWP 07) for The Story That Must Not Be Told, and the Chinese novelist Yu Hua (IWP 03) for Brothers.
September 2008
Three IWP 2008 writers traveled to Pennsylvania to read in JazzPoetry Festival, a part of the annual City of Asylum/Pittsburgh literary festival
August 2008
On 8/23, the State's Commission for the Status of Women marks the life achievement of Hualing Engle, the IWP's co-founder, by inducting her into Iowa Women's Hall of Fame. (Photo: Matthew Holst, Press-Citizen. click for full view)
Roberto Ampuero's new political detective story, El caso Neruda, is appearing this month in a Latin American and a Spanish edition, and in an Italian translation. Ampuero (IWP '96), an internationally popular Chilean novelist, also teaches creative writing in Spanish at UI.
International Writing Program, always unique, swims with the current. The 2008 "United Nations of Writing" -- the 42nd University of Iowa International Writing Program residency by established and emerging writers from all parts of the globe -- will be even more unpredictable than usual as a consequence of the June floods on the UI campus.
IWP co-founder Hualing Nieh Engle selected to the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame. She will be inducted on Aug. 23 in a ceremony at the State Historical Building in Des Moines.
July 2008
The largest award for a Chinese novel, given annually by the Hong Kong Baptist University, went this year to Mo Yan (IWP 04) for
Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out. Translated by Howard Goldblatt, it was published in March 2008 by Arcade Books.
The IWP is delighted to announce the birth of Karim Ungar-Kundus, in Ramallah, West Bank, son of Zahiye Kundus (IWP 2005, Israel) and Antonio Ungar (IWP, 2005, Colombia).
Two IWP alumni, Kavery Nambisan (07) and Yu Hua (03) are on this year's nomination list for the prestigious Asian Man Literary prize
The increased tension in Malaysia is glossed by Eddin Khoo (IWP 2002) in a recent South China Morning Post article.
June 2008
A play by Verena TAY (IWP 07), first written as part of the program's 40th anniversary "Global Play" experiment, was just performed at the Short+Sweet Festival in Singapore. She also has an essay on writing in a recent issue of FEER.
This summer, Ezzat Goushegir (IWP 1990) is having two short plays staged in Chicago and in Denver.
May 2008
The Open World Leadership Center honors Hugh Ferrer, associate director of the IWP in the Library of Congress.
April 2008
The headline in April 22 Saudi Gazette, "Americans amaze Saudi literati," tops the account of the IWP Middle East Reading and Lecture Tour's visit to Jeddah.
A friendly and thoughful write up of Etgar Keret (IWP '01) featured in a recent Guardian Unlimited Arts blog.
Harry Clifton (IWP 85) is the winner of the 2008 Irish Times Poetry Now Award.
www.livehopelove.com, a recent project of Kwame Dawes (IWP 86), gives a face, and voice to people living with HIV/AIDS in Jamaica.
The novel Mahmoud Abu Hashhash (IWP 02) wrote of the siege of Ramallah during the year he visited Iowa has been published in French as Ramallah, mon amour by Galaade Editions
In the most recent issue of Far Eastern Economic Review, Sarge Lacuesta (IWP 07) writes movingly about inter-generational trade in living space.
Two 'Iowa-centric' literary events were organized in Europe in April: the Athens International Literary Festival, thanks to Chris Chrissopoulos (IWP '07), and the "Little Iowa" encounter, part of the Europoetica International Poetry Festival in Budapest, thanks to Istvan Geher (IWP 07).
March 2008
KIM Reon (IWP ‘07) contributed to the most recent issue of Far East Economic Review with an essay on owning a house of her own.
The most recent book by Roberto AMPUERO (IWP ‘96), Los Amantes de Estocolmo (Planeta, 2004), is appearing in Croatia this spring, and Serbia this fall.
February 2008
The IWP joins with friends, colleagues and alumni in wishing Kazuko Shiraishi (IWP, '73) a happy 77th birthday. A photo from the event held recently in Tokyo includes Kazuko (center), Burt Blume (poet and former IWP staff member--far right), and other guests.
Michael Augustin (IWP 1984) has been featured in a “Poem of the Week” post on The Guardian blog
January 2008
Yvonne Ouwur (IWP 05) is among Kenyan writers reflecting on the current state of their domestic affairs. The collection "Concerned Kenyan Writers: Presenting a human face to the unfolding story in Kenya" was gathered under the auspices of Summer Literary Seminars/Russia/Kenya"
Peter Kimani (IWP 07) provides an analysis of the political crisis in Kenya on the UK-based media site Open Democracy and this article in the Guardian.co.uk.
2007 News Archive
October 2007
Manju Kanchuli (IWP, 2005) has recently published two books of short stories in Nepali: Vishwamitra ko Shuhaga Rata ['The Honeymoon Night of Vishwamitra'] (Nepal Academy); and Benam ka Manis haru ['Anonymous Ben'] (Sajha Publications).
September 2007
Click here for a recent interview with the Nigeria-born novelist H elon Habila (IWP, 2005).
August 2007
Ameena Hussein (IWP, 2005) has been long- listed for the first Man Asian Literary Award for her forthcoming work, Moon in the Water. Click here to read more.
Irish poet Eavan Boland (IWP, 1979) has been shortlisted for the 2007 Forward Prize for Best Collection for her recent volume, Domestic Violence (Carcanet).
New work by Mimi Khalvati (IWP, 2006) has been reviewed by The Guardian. Click here to read Charles Bainbridge's take on her latest volume of poetry, The Meanest Flower (Carcanet).
For his volume of poemsEn un abrir y cerrar de ojos (Madrid: Visor, 2006), Oscar Hahn (IWP, 1971) has been awarded Chile's 2006 "Premio del Consejo Nacional del Libro."
July 2007
An English translation of Mickle Makes Muckle, the poetry collection by Michael Augustin (IWP, 1984), has just been released by Dedalus Press as part of its Poetry Europe series. The translation was completed by Augustin's wife, the Indian poet and Writers' Workshop graduate Sujata Bhatt.
May 2007
The Cannes festival jury's award for best first film, the Camera d'Or, went to Israeli writer and filmmaker Etgar Keret ( IWP, 2001) and Shira Geffen, for Jellyfish, a film blending three melancholic stories of ordinary people in Tel Aviv.
April 2007
Freedom Nyamubaya (IWP, 2002) speaks about the current situation in Zimbabwe on NPR's "The World." Listen to a sample of a new Kontrabanda CD, with the vocals+guitar of Gintaras Grajauskas (IWP, 2002).
An interesting essay on African writing in French by Veronique Tadjo (IWP, 2006) appears in a recent issue Mail and Guardian.
January 2007
Waiting, a novella by the Ugandan writer Goretti Kyomuhendo (IWP, 1997) , dedicated to Sandra Barkan, is forthcoming from CUNY's Feminist Press.
The widely respected Burmese poet and pro-democracy activist U Tin Moe died in his California exile.
2006 News Archive
December 2006
On December 10th, the Swedish Academy awarded its 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature to Orhan Pamuk (IWP, 1985).
November 2006
Poet Jeong Rye Choi (IWP, 2006) returned home to Seoul to receive the prestigious Modern Literature Prize for 2007.
October 2006
A German edition of poetry by Ranjit Hoskote (IWP, 1995), translated by the German poet Jürgen Brocan, is being released this month at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The volume, Die Ankunft der Vögel, is published by Lyrik Kabinett.
September 2006
Zdenka Becker's (IWP, 2004) autobiographical novel Die Tõchter der Róza Bukovská has just appeared at the Viennese publishing house Residenzverlag.
June 2006
The bilingual story and photo collection Sangre dulce/Sweet Blood by Giovanna Rivero (IWP, 2004), co-authored with Kathy Leonard has been presented at the Bolivian International Book Fair.
Etienne Van Heerden (IWP, 1990) has been awarded the WA Hofmeyr Prize for Afrikaans Literature for his novel In stede van die liefde.
The Bride of the Acacias, a new play by Ezzat Gousheguir (IWP, 1990), is currently being performed at Chopin Theatre in Chicago. The production will run until June 11.
A poetry collection by Ranjit Hoskote (IWP, 1995), Vanishing Acts: New and Selected Poems 1985-2005, was recently published by Penguin Books India.
A poetry collection in English, Do Not Awaken Them With Hammers, by Lidija Dimkovska (IWP, 2005), has been published by Ugly Duckling Presse as part of their Eastern European Poets Series.
April 2006
Chameleon Press in Hong Kong has just issued an international edition of Mani Rao's (IWP, 2005) selected poetry, called 100 Poems.
Former IWP RA Cristina Henríquez has published Come Together, Fall Apart, a collection of stories with a novella.
An excerpt from Zdenka Becker's (IWP, 2004) "The Scent of Wheat" is featured in the March issue of Words Without Borders. And The Nimrod Flipout: Stories by Etgar Keret (IWP, 2001) has its US paperback release April 4.
Weekend of translation events at the University of Iowa, March 31 - April 2.
February 2006
Filmmaker and writer Martin Rejtman (IWP, 2000) has published a new book, Literatura y otros.
Uriel Quesada ( IWP, 2005) is the 2005 recipient of the Premio Nacional A.J. Echeverria, Costa Rica's top book award, for his new novel El gato de su mismo.
Alumni Announcements 2006-2007
Rasiah Halil (IWP, 1995) has conveyed the sad news that the Malay writer Masuri Bin Salikun (IWP, 1986) recipient of the Tun Sri Lanang Award and a renowned poet in the field of Malay literature, passed away on 7 December 2005.
Vivienne Plumb (IWP, 2004) is working on a new series of poems about a historic missionary house in New Zealand. In addition, she is collaborating with Adam Wiedemann (IWP, 2004) on a joint poetry collection in English and Polish, and with Rajeevan Thachompoyil (IWP, 2004) on an anthology of New Zealand poetry for South Indian readers.
Sukrita Paul Kumar (IWP, 2002) is Contributing Editor for the current issue of the literary journal Muse India. The issue is dedicated to modern Hindi literature.
Iowa City welcomes back Mani Rao (IWP, 2005) who returns in February 2006 as the International Programs' Writer-in-Residence.
Tang Ying (IWP, 2004) has been made director of the first non-state-owned theatre in Shanghai and has already brought to the stage the physical work, "Tongue's Memory of Home," by Zhang Xian (IWP, 2004). Tang Ying will publish two novella collections in 2006 and is also at work on a new novel.
Ahmed Alaidy (IWP, 2004) is having a great year. The English version of Being Abbas Elabd may be released as early as next fall from The American University in Cairo press. A movie he has co-writen will be filmed early next year. A comic strip he helped author has recently been resurrected and found a new audience. In November and December he will participate in the International Writers' Workshop in Hong Kong. And his publishing house early this year published Pahlaniuk's Fight Club. Ahmed writes, "Maybe we'll arrange for Chuck to attend next year's book fair." Here's hoping.
Sadly, word has reached us of the death of India's Nirmal Virma (IWP, 1977). Dilip Chitre (IWP, 1975) has this appreciation.
We regret to announce the death of Aurel-Dragos Munteanu (IWP, 1970-71), whose battle with cancer ended May 30, 2005. Mr. Munteanu was a fiction writer, the Romanian representative at the UN after the Ceaucescu regime was overthrown, and later the Romanian Ambassador to the US. In his memory we are posting a 1971 interview he gave to the Cedar Rapids Gazette and an article from the New York Times about his first days as Romanian Ambassador. A website dedicated to his work can be accessed here.
Yu Hua's (IWP, 2003) new novel Brothers is receiving good reviews in China. He had suffered ten years of writer's block on the project and could not complete the manuscript until his return home after the 2003 residency.
Congratulations! to Narlan Teixeira (IWP, 2002) on receiving a full scholarship to pursue his Master's Degree at The University of New Mexico.
Update: And the good news keeps coming for Narlan: He has now won the Media-Poetry Award.
Julio Monteiro Martins (IWP, 1979) has written to say he will be guiding creative writing workshops in Peralta, Italy, in collaboration with Da Vinci Capers Studios. Julio is the founder of the creative writing school Scuola Sagarana in Lucca: http://www.davincicapers.com/studio.html#writing
