University of Iowa News Release

Aug. 26, 2010

IWP presents a trio of free events Sept. 3 and 5

The University of Iowa International Writing Program (IWP) will present a trio a free literary events Sept. 3 and 5.

The events are:

--A panel discussion, "Translation/Writing Across Languages" at noon Friday, Sept. 3, in Meeting Room A of the Iowa City Public Library.
--A reading by Brazilian fiction writer Amilcar Bettega and Argentine fiction writer Pola Oloixarac in the Shambaugh House, 430 N. Clinton St.
--A joint reading with the Iowa Writers' Workshop featuring poet and essayist Maryia Martysevich -- the first IWP participant from Belarus -- and Kenyan fiction and nonfiction writer Billy Karanja Kahora. They will be joined by Chinelo Okparanta, a fiction writer in the workshop.

The panel participants will be Polish poet Milosz Biedrzycki, whose work has appeared in a trilingual volume -- Polish, Slovenian and Italian -- and whose work often appears in English translation; Indonesian novelist Andrea Hirata; Venezuelan poet and translator Beverly Perez Rego; and fiction writer, poet and translator Solvi Bjorn Sigurdsson from Iceland. The lunchtime event also features pizza, courtesy of UI International Programs.

Refreshments are also part of the regular Friday readings at the Shambaugh House, the headquarters of the IWP.

Read the bios of the IWP writers at http://iwp.uiowa.edu/writers/. Become a Facebook friend of the IWP at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Iowa-City-IA/International-Writing-Program#!/pages/Iowa-City-IA/International-Writing-Program/39135032067?ref=ts&__a=21&ajaxpipe=1.

The 2010 IWP community of 38 writers from 32 countries includes a mix of fiction writers, poets, translators, essayists, filmmakers, playwrights, screenwriters, editors, journalists and critics.

Founded in 1967, the IWP was the first international writers residency at a university, and it remains unique in world literature.

The IWP introduces talented writers to American life; enables them to take part in American university life; and provides them with time, in a setting congenial to their efforts, for the production of literary work. Since 1967, more than 1,200 writers from more than 120 countries have attended the IWP, including Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk.

Many of the writers are supported through the U.S. State Department and U.S. embassies, while others are funded through a variety of foundations, government councils and bilateral agreements.

UI arts events are searchable on the UI Master Calendar: http://calendar.uiowa.edu. Exhibitions are searchable at http://calendar.uiowa.edu/exhibitions. To receive UI arts news by e-mail, go to http://list.uiowa.edu/archives/acr-news.html and click the link "Join or Leave ACR News," then follow the instructions.

STORY SOURCE: University of Iowa News Services, 300 Plaza Centre One, Iowa City, IA 52242-2500

MEDIA CONTACT: Winston Barclay, University News Services, 319-430-1013, winston-barclay@uiowa.edu