May 11—15, 2008

This Reading and Lecture Tour took a delegation of American writers to Cyprus from May 11th to May 15th. The tour was made possible by a grant from the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The tour—a mix of literary and cultural events— introduced the delegation to audiences on both sides of the UN buffer zone. The tour was an opportunity for American writers to deepen their understanding of the country’s unique landscape, its political and cultural tensions, and its literary traditions. The literary events included encounters (readings, talks, class visits, teas, etc.) with English language and literature students and faculties, meetings with literary groups, and exchanges/mutual interviews with publishers and journalists. The IWP provided short translations, and interpreters at all events, so that the delegation could share their work with local audiences in Greek or Turkish, as appropriate, as well as in English. We also encouraged future collaborations between the delegation and their counterparts in the region.

The IWP worked with the US Embassy in Nicosia and a local coordinator to arrange visas, lodging, drivers, interpreters, and a balance of readings, meetings, and cultural programming/excursions in each location. As we made our way through the country, local points of interest generated for the delegates a sense of the broader context—cultural, historical, and geographical—in which their Cypriot counterparts live and work; and also informed how delegates discuss the topic of “Home/Land” in the New Symposium in Paros, Greece, to which the delegation subsequently traveled.

Participants