The International Writing Program (IWP) is a writing residency for international artists in

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the tim ...

. Since 2014, the program offers online courses to many writers and poets around the world. Since its inception in 1967, the IWP has hosted over 1,500 emerging and established poets, novelists, dramatists, essayists, and journalists from more than 150 countries. Its primary goal is to introduce talented writers to the writing community at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 co ...

, and to provide for the writers a period of optimal conditions for their creative work. Since 2000, the IWP has been directed by poet and journalist Christopher Merrill.

History

The IWP was founded by Paul Engle and Hualing Nieh Engle as a non-academic, internationally focused counterpart to the

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative ...

. Under the Engles' guidance, hundreds of writers came to Iowa, particularly from parts of the world where literary and personal freedom was often restricted. During the 1970s and 1980s the program's reach towards nations in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and eastern Europe expanded significantly. In 1979 the Engles coordinated a "Chinese Weekend", one of the first significant meetings of writers from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Chinese diaspora since

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

. For their efforts to connect writers worldwide and to promote international understanding, the Engles were nominated for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolo ...

in 1976. Hualing Nieh Engle and Paul Engle co-directed the IWP until 1977, after which Engle retired and Hualing continued as sole director. She retired in 1988, and currently serves as a member of the IWP Advisory Board. Other past directors include Fredrick Woodard (1988),

Clark Blaise Clark Blaise, OC (born April 10, 1940) is a Canadian-American author. He was a professor of creative writing at York University, and a writer of short fiction. In 2010, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada. Early life and education ...

(1990), Steven Ungar (1998), and Sandra Barkan (1999).

Current activities

The primary residency, which takes place each fall, offers writers the opportunity to participate in American literary, academic, and cultural life through talks, lectures, readings, screenings, stage performances, school visits, and travel, while providing time for personal writing and creative work. University of Iowa students can take several classes built around the work and presence of the IWP residents. Literary translation is an integral part of the program's mission. At the time of Hualing's retirement, two volumes of selected IWP writings had been compiled under the title ''Writing From The World'', in addition to another collection, ''The World Comes To Iowa'', and more than a dozen individual volumes in the Iowa Translation Series. Today, the IWP supports 91st Meridian, an online literary journal, and the book serie
91stM Books
housed at the independen
Autumn Hill Books
In recent years the program has broadened its efforts to promote international connections among writers by organizing a variety of events, some of which take place outside the United States. Among these are: *Reading tours of American authors in the Middle East and other regions. *International colloquia on current cultural topics *Life of Discovery, a multi-year artist exchange program with members of Chinese minority groups *Between the Lines, a program bringing high school students from Arabic-speaking countries and Russia to Iowa to practice creative writing alongside American students

Funding

A major source of funding for writers attending the IWP is the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

, and the program's administration is supported by the University of Iowa. The IWP also administers grants for writers sponsored for their residency by private and public cultural organizations in the United States and abroad.

The IWP in literature and film

The IWP itself has been featured in a number of literary works, including: *''Memories of Light and Shade—Part 1'', a serial novel by

Sunil Gangopadhyay Sunil Gangopadhyay or Sunil Ganguly (7 September 1934 – 23 October 2012) was an Indian poet, historian and novelist in the Bengali language based in the city of Kolkata. He is a former Sheriff of Calcutta. Gangopadhyay obtained his m ...

, published in the

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

journal Urhalpool *''The Fall of the Japanese Language in the Age of English'', a work of criticism by Minae Mizumura *"Writing in the Mirror of the River", a short story by Mohamed Magani, published in 91st Meridian In 1973, the

United States Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to " public diplomacy". In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bil ...

funded a documentary about the IWP, ''Community of the Imagination''.

Alumni

Among the program's alumni are: *

Homeira Qaderi Homeira Qaderi (Dari: حمیرا قادری, also spelled Homeira Qadari) born in 1980 is an Afghan writer, advocate for women's rights, and professor of Persian literature, currently serving as a Robert G. James Scholar Fellow at Radcliffe Ins ...

(Afghanistan, 2015) * Karen Villeda (Mexico, 2015) * El Jones (Canada, 2015) * Abhay K (India, 2015) *Oscar Ranzo (Uganda, 2013) *Ali Al Saeed (Bahrain, 2013) *

Karim Alrawi Karim Alrawi (Arabic كريم الراوي) is a writer born in Alexandria, Egypt. He has taught at universities in the UK, Egypt, US and Canada. He was an International Writing Fellow at the University of Iowa and taught creative writing at the ...

(Canada/ UK/ Egypt, 2013) *Martin Dyar (Ireland, 2013) *Teemu Manninen (Finland, 2013) *Dmitri Golynko (Russia, 2013) *

Whiti Hereaka Whiti Hereaka (born 1978) is a New Zealand playwright, novelist and screenwriter and a barrister and solicitor. She has held a number of writing residencies and appeared at literary festivals in New Zealand and overseas, and several of her books ...

(New Zealand, 2013) *Lee Chi-leung (Hong Kong, 2013) *Sridala Swami (India, 2013) *

Rochelle Potkar Rochelle Potkar is an Indian fiction writer and poet based in Mumbai, India. Her work includes the short story collections ''The Arithmetic of Breasts and Other Stories'' and ''Bombay Hangovers'', and the poetry collections ''Four Degrees of Se ...

(India, 2015) *Roland Rugero (Burundi, 2013) *Yui Tanizaki (Japan, 2013) * Dimitris Lyacos (Greece/Italy, 2012) *Taleb al Refai (Kuwait, 2012) *

Jana Benova Jana may refer to: Entertainment * ''Jana'' (film), a 2004 Tamil film by Shaji Kailas * Jana (singer) (born 1974), Serbian singer * Jana (Native American singer), née Jana Mashonee * ''Jana of the Jungle'', animated series created by Doug Wild ...

(Slovakia, 2012) *

Maria Sonia Cristoff María Sonia Cristoff (born 1965) is an Argentine writer. She was born in Trelew but since the early 1980s has been based in Buenos Aires. ''Falsa Calma'' was translated into English by Katherine Silver in 2018. Career She writes both fiction an ...

(Argentina, 2011) *

Dorothy Tse Dorothy Tse Hiu-hung (, born 1977) is a Hong Kong author, editor, and an assistant professor of creative writing at Hong Kong Baptist University. Writing career Dorothy Tse writes primarily in Chinese. Her first short story collection, ''So Black' ...

(Hong Kong, 2011) *Ghada Abdel Aal (Egypt, 2010) *Ian Rosales Casocot (Philippines, 2010) *

Hon Lai-chu Hon Lai-chu (, born 1978) is a Hong Kong writer. She has authored eight books in Chinese and won numerous awards, including the Hong Kong Biennial Award for Chinese Literature for fiction, Taiwan’s Unitas New Writer’s Novella first prize, and t ...

(Hong Kong, 2010) *Dung Kai-cheung (Hong Kong, 2009) *Tahereh Saffarzadeh (Iran, 1967) *

Daniachew Worku Daniachew Worku (Amharic: ዳኛቸው ወርቁ; 24 February 1936 – 1 December 1994) was an Ethiopian writer whose works include novels, plays and short stories. He wrote in both Amharic and English. He gained international recognition after h ...

(1967) *

Devanur Mahadeva Devanoora Mahadeva is an Indian writer and intellectual who writes in Kannada language. The Government of India conferred upon him the Padma Shri award, the fourth highest civilian award. Known among literary circles to be a rebel, Mahadeva re ...

(India) * Maria van Daalen (Netherlands, 1995) * Jose Donoso (Chile, 1968, 1991) *

Luisa Valenzuela Luisa Valenzuela Levinson (born 26 November 1938) is a post-' Boom' novelist and short story writer. Her writing is characterized by an experimental style which questions hierarchical social structures from a feminist perspective. She may be be ...

(Argentina, 1969) * Janusz Glowacki (Poland, 1970, 1986) * Arnost Lustig (Czech Republic, 1970) *

Lin Hwai-min Lin Hwai-min (; born 19 February 1947) is a Taiwanese dancer, writer, choreographer, and founder of Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan. Biography Family Lin was born in Xingang, Chiayi. He came from an intellectual family. His great-grandfathe ...

(Taiwan, 1970) * Luisa Futoransky (Argentina, 1970) * Marin Sorescu (Romania, 1971) *

João Ubaldo Ribeiro João Ubaldo Ribeiro (January 23, 1941 – July 18, 2014) was a Brazilian writer, journalist, screenwriter and professor. Several of his books and short stories have been turned into movies and TV series in Brazil. Ribeiro was a member of the Br ...

(Brazil, 1972) *

Ágnes Gergely Ágnes Gergely (born 1933) is a Hungarian writer, educator, journalist and translator. Biography She was born Ágnes Guttmann in family of Fenákel Rózsika and György Guttmann in Endrőd, a village on the Great Hungarian Plain. She took he ...

(Hungary, 1973) *

Ashokamitran Ashokamitran (22 September 1931 – 23 March 2017) was the pen name of Jagadisa Thyagarajan, an Indian writer regarded as one of the most influential figures in post-independent Tamil literature. He began his prolific literary career with the pr ...

(India, 1973) * Virginia R. Moreno (Philippines, 1973) *

Peter Nazareth Peter Nazareth (born 27 April 1940) is a Ugandan-born literary critic and writer of fiction and drama. Life Peter Nazareth was born in Uganda of Indian Goan ancestry, and his mother's family was earlier based in Malaya-Malaysia-Singapore. He was ...

(Uganda, 1973) *

Bessie Head Bessie Amelia Emery Head (6 July 1937 – 17 April 1986) was a South African writer who, though born in South Africa, is usually considered Botswana's most influential writer. She wrote novels, short fiction and autobiographical works that are i ...

(Botswana, 1977) * Edwin Thumboo (Singapore, 1977, 1986) * Eavan Boland (Ireland, 1979) * Totilawati Tjitrawasita (Indonesia, 1980) *

John Banville William John Banville (born 8 December 1945) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, adapter of dramas and screenwriter. Though he has been described as "the heir to Proust, via Nabokov", Banville himself maintains that W. B. Yeats and Henry J ...

(Ireland, 1980) *

Emmanuel Hocquard Emmanuel Hocquard (11 April 1940 – 27 January 2019) was a French poet. Life He grew up in Tangier, Morocco. He served as the editor of the small press ''Orange Export Ltd.'' and, with Claude Royet-Journoud, edited two anthologies of new Amer ...

(France, 1980) * Earl Lovelace (Trinidad, 1980) * Wang Meng (China, 1980) *

Anton Shammas Anton Shammas ( ar, أنطون شماس, he, אנטון שמאס; born 1950), is a Palestinian writer, poet and translator of Arabic, Hebrew and English. Biography Anton Shammas was one of six children born to a Palestinian father and a Lebanese ...

(Israel, 1981) * Ding Ling (China, 1981) *

Kenji Nakagami was a Japanese novelist and essayist. He is well known as the first, and so far the only, post-war Japanese writer to identify himself publicly as a Burakumin is a name for a low-status social group in Japan. It is a term for ethnic Japanese ...

(Japan, 1982) *

Liu Binyan Liu Binyan (; February 7, 1925 – December 5, 2005) was a Chinese author, journalist, and political dissident. Many of the events in Liu's life are recounted in his memoir, ''A Higher Kind of Loyalty''. Early life Liu Binyan, whose family hails ...

(China, 1982) *

(India, 1982) *

Dubravka Ugrešić Dubravka Ugrešić (; born 27 March 1949) is a Yugoslav and later Croatian writer. A graduate of University of Zagreb, she has been based in Amsterdam since 1996 and refuses to identify as a Croatian writer. Early life and education Ugreši� ...

(Yugoslavia, 1983) * Lorna Goodison (Jamaica, 1983) * Sebastian Barry (Ireland, 1984) *

Orhan Pamuk Ferit Orhan Pamuk (born 7 June 1952) is a Turkish novelist, screenwriter, academic, and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, his work has sold over thirteen million books in sixty-three lan ...

(Turkey, 1985) *

David Albahari David Albahari (, ; born 15 March 1948)Biography
at Edward Radzinsky (Russia, 1987) * Li Ang (Taiwan, 1987) *

Bei Dao Bei Dao (, born August 2, 1949) is the pen name of the Chinese-American writer Zhao Zhenkai (S: 赵振开, T: 趙振開, P: ''Zhào Zhènkāi''). Among the most acclaimed Chinese-language poets of his generation, he is often regarded as a candida ...

(China, 1988) * Slavenka Drakulic (Yugoslavia, 1988) *

Etienne van Heerden Etienne van Heerden, born 3 December 1954, is a South African author. Biography Van Heerden was born in 1954, six years after the official advent of apartheid. His mother was an English speaking mathematics teacher. His father, an Afrikaans speak ...

(South Africa, 1990) *

Can Xue Deng Xiaohua (; born May 30, 1953), better known by her pen name Can Xue (), is a Chinese avant-garde fiction writing, fiction writer and literary criticism, literary critic. Her family was severely persecuted following her father being labeled a ...

(China, 1992) *András Nagy (Hungary, 1993) *

Sue Woolfe Sue Woolfe (born 15 November 1950) is an Australian author, teacher, scriptwriter, editor and documentary film-maker. Biography Woolfe was raised in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney and completed tertiary studies at the University of Sydney ...

(Australia, 1994) * Ranjit Hoskote (India, 1995) *

Viktor Pelevin Victor Olegovich Pelevin ( rus, Виктор Олегович Пелевин, p=ˈvʲiktər ɐˈlʲɛɡəvʲɪtɕ pʲɪˈlʲevʲɪn; born 22 November 1962) is a Russian fiction writer. His novels include ''Omon Ra'' (1992), '' The Life of Insec ...

(Russia, 1996) * Rodrigo Fresán (Argentina, 1996) *

Tibor Fischer Tibor Fischer (born 15 November 1959) is a British novelist and short story writer. In 1993, he was selected by the literary magazine Granta as one of the 20 best young British writers while his novel '' Under the Frog'' was featured on the Book ...

(UK, 1997) * Nu Nu Yi (Burma, 2000) * Martin Rejtman (Argentina, 2000) *Hwang Ji-woo (Korea, 2000) * Thu Maung (Burma, 2001) *Khin Lay Nyo (Burma, 2001) * Etgar Keret (Israel, 2001) *

Joy Goswami Joy Goswami ( bn, জয় গোস্বামী; born 1954) is an Indian poet. Goswami writes in Bengali language, Bengali and is widely considered one of the most important Bengali poets of his generation. Biography Joy was born on 10 Nov ...

(India, 2001) * Su Tong (China, 2001) *Xi Chuan (China, 2002) * Edward Carey (UK, 2002) * Yu Hua (China, 2003) * Minae Mizumura (Japan, 2003) * Gábor T. Szántó (Hungary, 2003) * Mo Yan (China, 2004) *

Doris Kareva Doris Kareva (28 November 1958) is an Estonian poet and translator. She serves as the head of the Estonian National Commission in UNESCO. Biography Kareva was born in Tallinn. Her father, Hillar Kareva, was a notable composer. She studied Engli ...

(Estonia, 2006) * Kiran Nagarkar (India, 2007) *

Meena Kandasamy Ilavenil Meena Kandasamy (born 1984) is an Indian poet, fiction writer, translator and activist from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Meena published two collections of poetry, ''Touch'' (2006) and ''Ms. Militancy'' (2010). From 2001-2002, she ...

(India) *

Chen Yingzhen Chen Yingzhen (; 8 November 1937 – 22 November 2016) was a Taiwanese author. Chen is also notable for having served a prison sentence for "subversive activity" between 1968 and 1973. He was active as writer from the late 1950s until his death ...

(Taiwan, 1983) *

Ru Zhijuan Ru Zhijuan ( Wade–Giles: Ju Chih-chüan, 30 October 1925 – 7 October 1998) was a Chinese writer best known for her short stories. Ru was one of the most important writers of her generation. Her second daughter Wang Anyi Wang Anyi (born 6 M ...

(China, 1983) * Wang Anyi (China, 1983) *

Wu Zuguang Wu Zuguang (; 21 April 1917 – 9 April 2003) was a Chinese playwright, film director and social critic who has been called a "legendary figure in Chinese art and literary circles". He authored more than 40 plays and film scripts, including the ...

(China, 1983) Many alumni presentations, including audio and video, have been archived.International Writing Program Digital Archive: http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/cdm/search/collection/vwu/searchterm/international%20writing%20program!virtual%20writing%20university%20archive/field/all!digitx/mode/exact!all/conn/and!and/cosuppress/

Notes and references

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External links

International Writing Program main siteLife of Discovery project siteBetween the Lines project siteParticipants by region
1967 establishments in Iowa