Between the Lines: June 15-28, 2008
June 2008 marks the debut of Between the Lines (BTL). Twelve young writers from Arabic-speaking countries, aged 16-19, will be invited to the University of Iowa for a two-week workshop. Based on and in coordination with the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio (IYWS), the writers will participate in writing workshops (in both English and Arabic), attend literature seminars, visit local sights, and deepen their understanding of the United States through interactions with fellow students and the community.
Along with IYWS activities, the writers will attend Arabic-language writing workshops taught by Lebanese novelist and journalist Iman Humaydan and Iraqi poet Dunya Mikhail.
Accommodations are in Currier Hall, a dormitory within easy walking distance of the Writers’ Workshop, the International Writing Program, the Writers’ House, and other UI sites. Boys and girls reside in separate areas under the supervision of adult, Arabic-speaking chaperones.
Participating students will have their travel, room/board, and cultural expenses covered.
BTL is sponsored through grant funds provided by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US State Department.
The Curriculum
Workshops
Just about every writing program offers some variation of the workshop; it is the only way a writer can get direct feedback from his or her readers. Workshopping is not writing by committee. Instead, constructive criticism helps a writer to see his/her work through the eyes of good readers. The text for this class is the writing that students generate. Workshop inevitably precipitates in-depth, thoughtful meditations on what it is that writers do. Instructors ensure that workshops present a supportive environment.
Seminars
To write, one must read. One of the goals of BTL is to make sure that participants understand their place in this tradition. Students can forget about stuffy literature classes: Instructors design seminars around the books they love, books that taught or amazed them. The emphasis of these classes is for students to read as writers; published work will be scrutinized for what can be gleaned about craft. All seminars will include a broad range of readings.
More Daily Activities
Structure is a writer’s best friend. Each day begins with Morning Reports, a chance to make sure everyone is up to speed, to announce readings, and to cover logistics. The Studio occasionally hosts speakers during this meeting.
- Every morning students get together to write as a group. Instructors will introduce favorite writing exercises.
- There are also outdoor writing exercises in or around Iowa City. These are designed to help students delve deeper into their creative voice, to take risks, to develop pieces they might not discover on their own.
- Evening activities include visits and readings with established writers and trips to interesting places around Iowa City. There is at least one featured literary activity each night.
- After five days of classes most students are ready for a change of pace. On the weekend day-long electives are offered as a chance to switch gears. Last year, students chose from Screenwriting, Songwriting, Graphic Novels/Comics, Expert Collage, Profile Writing, and Printmaking. Students will have the opportunity to select their preferences during the first week of classes.
Iowa City, Iowa
With a literary pedigree rivaling that of Chicago and New York, Iowa City is home to the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the Nonfiction Writing Program, as well as the International Writing Program, the Playwrights’ Workshop, the Iowa Summer Writing Festival, and the Center for the Book. That’s quite a resume for a town of 60,000. To see how much Iowa City values its writers, all you need to do is stroll down its main street, Iowa Avenue, and look at the Literary Walk, a series of bronze relief panels that honor 49 writers with ties to Iowa, including Kurt Vonnegut, Flannery O’Connor, and Rita Dove. This is a busy, picturesque college town with several coffee houses, movie theaters, a mall, and shops to visit.
Visiting writers will give informal talks and presentations about the craft of writing and the writing life. Faculty will organize outings to local attractions, plays and concerts. The Writers’ Workshop and Prairie Lights Bookstore offer their own reading series, which provide alternate readings several times a week.
Housing
The Residence Hall
Participants live in Currier Residence Hall. Stately, newly-renovated, but traditional, Currier is located on a tree-lined street near the heart of the University’s campus. Some of its amenities include courtyard, several lounges, laundry rooms, vending machines, a pool table and game room, a grand piano, and – most importantly – a spacious new computer lab. The residence hall and its surroundings are well lit. Currier’s doors are locked each night and university security officers make regular rounds of each floor. Each student room can be locked from the inside. A Residence Hall Coordinator is available 24 hours a day.
Chaperones
BTL chaperones, fluent in both Arabic and English, live on each floor of the residence hall alongside BTL participants. Their job is to help develop a safe, creative community. In addition, chaperones act as liaisons between the students and the BTL administrators. Chaperones are in charge of supervising evening activities just as instructors supervise daytime activities. Writers themselves, chaperones can offer expert advice, act as a sounding board for new ideas, or help organize writing groups within the residence hall.
Rules
In order to ensure a safe and enjoyable living experience, there are a number of rules that all BTL participants must follow. Some of these rules are:
- Smoking and/or the use of alcohol or other illegal substances is strictly prohibited.
- Nightly room checks and morning roll call are mandatory.
- Students must be on their hall by 10:30 pm.
- Participants may not keep a car on campus.
A complete list of rules accompany acceptance packages. In order to participate in BTL, all participants, as well as a parent or guardian, must sign a form stating that they have read the rules and will agree to live by them.
Questions and Answers
Who teaches the classes?
Workshop leaders are professional writers; their work is published in literary magazines and many have books published or under contract. Instructors are required to hold, or to be within one year of completing, master’s degrees in fine arts, which is the degree required to teach creative writing at the collegiate level. They are also experienced teachers, both at the high school and college level. They are selected based on their knowledge, teaching ability, and enthusiasm.
Is college credit given for participating in BTL?
BTL does not offer college credit for any of the classes.
Who makes admissions decisions?
The International Writing Program will decide who is admitted to BTL.
Contact Information
For more information on BTL, contact:
Kecia Lynn, BTL Coordinator
International Writing Program
Shambaugh House
430 N. Clinton
Iowa City, IA 52245
319-384-3296
kecia-lynn@uiowa.edu
Faculty Bios
Iman HUMAYDAN (fiction writer, journalist; Lebanon) has published two critically acclaimed novels. Her first, B as in Beirut, was published in 1997, and her second, Wild Mulberries, was published in 2001. Her third novel, Other Lives, will be released in Beirut in 2008. In addition to writing novels, Humaydan is a journalist, researcher and anthropologist. She is a founding member of The Anthropological Society in Lebanon.
Dunya MIKHAIL (poet, instructor; Iraq) has published four collections of poetry in Arabic and one in English. They include (titles are translated from the Arabic) The Psalms of Absence, Almost Music, and The War Works Hard, which won PEN’s Translation Award, was shortlisted for the Griffen Poetry Prize, and was selected as one of the 25 Best Books of 2005 by the New York Public Library
Last updated on
April 6, 2008
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