IWP: A three-month literary summit

Illustration by Rex Bavousett.

The International Writing Program (IWP) returns to full strength this fall under its new director, Christopher Merrill. For three months this fall, Iowa City will host a literary community of 18 prominent fiction writers, screenwriters, poets, playwrights, journalists, translators, and editors from 16 countries.

"These are the writers around the world who have made a difference," Merrill says. "It’s just exciting to have this much talent in one place at one time."

During their visit, the writers will not only work on their current literary projects, but will also contribute to a course, International Literature Today, attend readings, interact with students in the UI Translation Workshop, visit literature classes, learn firsthand about Iowa’s rural heritage, attend performances in Hancher Auditorium, and interact with faculty and students in a variety of academic departments.

A number of IWP events will be open to the public. There will be joint readings with the Writers’ Workshop at 5 p.m. on Sundays, Sept. 10 through Nov. 5, at Prairie Lights bookstore, as well as panel discussions at 3 p.m. Wednesdays, Sept. 13 through Oct. 25, in the Gerber Lounge, 304 EPB. Details will be announced throughout the semester, or check the IWP web site at www.uiowa.edu/~iwp.

Merrill speaks enthusiastically about his new role in the program.

"What I have found in all my dealings with people at Iowa is an extraordinary amount of good-will toward the IWP," Merrill says. "This is a good time for the program. I have a sense not only that this is a vital program, but that with just a little bit of tweaking, we can make it work in the new millennium."

	Christopher Merrill

Merrill is something of an international writing program unto himself. He is the author of three collections of poems, four book-length works of translation, several edited volumes, and three volumes of nonfiction concerning his travels through foreign lands. His most recent book, Only the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars, has received extensive critical praise.

Over the last year, the program has been in a period of transition while the search for a new director was in progress. During that time, Graduate College assistant dean Sandra Barkan ran the program on an interim basis. Barkan, too, sees a promising future for the program, thanks to the talents of its new director and the efforts of its supporters, which include IWP co-founder Hualing Engle, vice president for research David Skorton, former dean of the Graduate College and now vice provost Les Sims, the faculty and staff of the Writers’ Workshop, and the cinema and comparative literature faculty. In particular, Barkan singles out IWP program associate Rowena Torrevillas as a key contributors to the program’s survival and success.

"Rowena Torrevillas has been very important to this program," Barkan says. "She has brought a history and a dedication to it. She’s an anchor."

At the same time, Barkan is confident about handing the program to Merrill.

"I cannot tell you how excited I am to have him in this position," Barkan says. "Every time I get off the phone with him, I think, ‘This is just perfect.’ "

Since its inception in 1967, the program has enjoyed a history of making an impact on international understanding. The IWP has brought 845 writers from 112 nations to The University of Iowa. In 1976, because of the program’s continued support for writers experiencing financial or political difficulties, founders Paul and Hualing Engle were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Merrill sees great potential in the IWP for political, as well as literary, exchange.

"This year we’ll have in residence a Palestinian from the West Bank and an Israeli," Merrill says. "There are all sorts of fruitful areas for interchange. The IWP is a place where things can happen."

Ideally, the program will have an impact beyond its three-month period and beyond the walls of academe. Merrill feels the program grows more and more relevant as the globe becomes a smaller and smaller place.

"We’re in a new world right now," Merrill says. "Only one in 11 Americans owns a passport. Half of Congress doesn’t have a passport. Yet we are viewed as the indispensable nation. If we’re that, we need to know about the rest of the world."

Article by Sam Samuels and Winston Barclay

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