PROGRAM DESCRIPTION, 2008 Session
Program Dates: August 23 - November 18, 2008
THE INTERNATIONAL WRITING PROGRAM (IWP) brings to the University of Iowa outstanding writers from every continent, 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.
Since 1967, we have brought over 1,100 writers from 120 nations to this country. The goal of the IWP is to provide writers with a place and time to write, read, translate, study, conduct research, travel, report, give readings, stage work, give papers, and become part of the vibrant 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 and with the extensive literary community in Iowa City.
We share their literary cultures with others; and help establish contacts with the larger US publishing scene. For many of the participants, the IWP is their first stay in the United States.
The 41st consecutive session of the IWP is scheduled to take place August 23 through November 18, 2008. 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 a desired qualification.
• 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 American and international writers of note are held almost nightly at the University of Iowa and in Iowa City: between late August and mid-December, 2007, there were over 100 literary and theater events. Notable readers and performers included Jorie Graham, Edward P. Jones, Junot Diaz, Tony Hoagland, Tomaž Šalamun, Donald Revell, Ron Carlson, Tessa Rumsey, Peter Sis, William Gass, Zakes Mda, and Ilya Kutik. Opportunities for interaction with visiting writers arise through informal receptions and small-group question-and-answer sessions.
The IWP works closely with other writing units at the University of Iowa, including the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, the Non-Fiction 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, Eastern European, and other literatures. Each year the IWP fields invitations for our writers to visit classrooms as lecturers, or conference presenters.
The Iowa portion of the residency runs from August 23 to November 8. Where participants have the appropriate funding, travel within the United States will follow. The travel period gives the writers opportunities to confer with translators, publishers, and colleagues; to give talks or readings at other institutions; and to conduct work-related research.
Fall Residency Activities
• International Literature Today. An upper-level university course which is based 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 “Literature from Where I Stand," "A Key Book on my Bookshelf," "Images of America," "Writing as Philosophy and Craft," and "Writing for an Age of Migration, Diaspora, Exile." 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 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, is held at Prairie Lights Books on Sunday afternoons. And the IWP hosts a second series of readings, held 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 (it is the home of the country's preeminent teaching center for 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 Division of Performing Arts or the Iowa City performing community. It is directed by playwright Maggie Conroy.
• 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 to numerous cultural events. Past field trips included sites of local interest: 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 farming families. Trips to nearby Kalona and to Chicago are also planned.
• Community interaction. A significant part of the program is 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 schools; and trips to speak or read around Iowa. These trips are arranged in a variety of ways and we encourage participants to use these opportunities to get to know “average Americans."
Facilities
• Visiting writers will live at the Iowa House hotel, located on campus in the Iowa Memorial Union (IMU). The River Room and other cafeterias are found in the same building ; other IMU facilities include the Bijou movie theatre, a student 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. University Information & Technology Services 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 UI’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. In collaboration with the Writers' Workshop, we periodically bring literary agents, editors or publishers to the campus for consultations with writers.
• 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 >. Please visit the International Writing Program website at http://www.uiowa.edu/~iwp.
|
