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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261018
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261026
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SUMMARY:Iowa City Book Festival
DESCRIPTION: The Iowa City Book Festival is happening October 18–25\, 2026! Join us for a week of literary events\, author talks\, readings\, and more at various locations throughout downtown Iowa City.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/iowa-city-book-festival-2/
LOCATION:Downtown Iowa City
CATEGORIES:General
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261018T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261018T100000
DTSTAMP:20261003T070820
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SUMMARY:PorchLight: Writing Grief
DESCRIPTION:Grief Writing – A monthly exploration of loss and heartbreak \nJennifer New leads this monthly group that uses writing as a reflective tool to explore loss. Francis Weller’s Five Gates of Grief provides a backbone to consider grief from multiple angles\, e.g.\, death of loved ones\, loss of health or ability\, grief for the world. This is an ongoing group; you’re welcome to attend once or each time. No writing experience is needed.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/porchlight-writing-grief-2026-10-04/
LOCATION:PorchLight Literary Arts Center\, 1019 E Washington St\, Iowa City\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:General
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261018T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261018T140000
DTSTAMP:20261003T070820
CREATED:20260902T144746Z
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SUMMARY:Christopher Merrill Receives the 2026 Paul Engle Prize
DESCRIPTION:Christopher Merrill has been named the 15th recipient of the Paul Engle Prize\, presented by the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature organization. \nThe prize\, established in 2011\, honors an individual who\, like Paul Engle\, represents a pioneering spirit in the world of literature through writing\, editing\, publishing\, or teaching\, and whose active participation in the larger issues of the day has contributed to the betterment of the world through the literary arts. \nThe prize includes a $25\,000 award and a one-of-a-kind work of art. Merrill\, who retired at the end of 2025 after 25 years as the director of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa\, will receive the award at a ceremony at 2 p.m. on Oct. 18\, at the Coralville Public Library. Loren Glass\, chair of the UI English Department\, will interview Merrill as part of the program. The event\, which kicks off the 2026 Iowa City Book Festival\, is free and open to the public. \nMerrill said he was honored to receive the prize. \n“Paul Engle set a dynamic example of literary engagement\, as a poet and writer\, teacher and director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and International Writing Program (IWP). And his creative thinking has been for me a spur to try new things during my tenure in Iowa\, and so it is a thrill to receive an award in his name.” \nMerrill was born in Northampton\, Massachusetts and raised in New Jersey. He holds two degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middlebury College\, and a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Washington. \nHe has published more than 10 collections of poetry\, including Watch Fire\, for which he received the Lavan Younger Poets Award from the Academy of American Poets\, and On the Road to Lviv; many edited volumes and translations; and seven books of nonfiction\, among them\, Only the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars\, Things of the Hidden God: Journey to the Holy Mountain\, and The Tree of the Doves: Ceremony\, Expedition\, War. His writings have been translated into nearly 40 languages; his journalism appears widely; his honors include a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres from the French government\, numerous translation awards\, and fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial and Ingram Merrill Foundations. \nAs director of IWP\, Merrill conducted cultural diplomacy missions to more than 50 countries. He served on the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO from 2011-2018\, and in April 2012 President Barack Obama appointed him to the National Council on the Humanities. \nThe Paul Engle Prize is made possible through the generous support of the City of Coralville\, which is home to 11 permanent sculptures with artistic and literary ties to Iowa. The sculptures all have ties to work found in The Iowa Writers’ Library\, housed in the Hyatt Regency Coralville Hotel\, which features about 800 books written by former students\, graduates and faculty of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. \nThe Engle Prize itself is a one-of-a-kind work of art. Each piece is crafted to reflect the work and impact of the recipient\, while tying it to the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature. \nPaul Engle (October 12\, 1908 – March 22\, 1991)\, though best remembered as the long-time director of the Writers’ Workshop and co-founder with his wife\, Hualing Nieh Engle\, of the UI’s International Writing Program\, also was a well-regarded poet\, playwright\, essayist\, editor and critic. In 2000\, then-Gov. Tom Vilsack declared Engle’s birthday\, Oct. 12\, as “Paul Engle Day” in Iowa. \nPrevious winners of the prize are James Alan McPherson\, Kwame Dawes\, Luis Alberto Urrea\, Roxane Gay\, Alexander Chee\, Dina Nayeri\, Toi Derricotte\, Cornelius Eady\, Dr. Eve L. Ewing\, Rebecca Solnit\, Joan Naviyuk Kane\, Camille Dungy\, and Cole Swensen. Visit www.iowacityofliterature.org/paul-engle-day for more information about the prize and past winners.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/christopher-merrill-receives-the-2026-paul-engle-prize/
LOCATION:Coralville Public Library\, 1401 5th St.\, Coralville\, IA\, 52241\, United States
CATEGORIES:General,Iowa City Book Festival
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261018T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261018T173000
DTSTAMP:20261003T070820
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SUMMARY:In the Cards: A Tarot and Poetry Workshop with Paula Cisewski
DESCRIPTION:This event is presented in partnership with Porchlight Literary Arts Center and Iowa City Poetry \nImage\, insight\, archetype. Your Tarot deck may provide guidance\, but how can you also use the deck to generate or revise your poems? Paula Cisewski will give a brief introduction of Tarot for newcomers and provide examples of a couple spreads. You’ll read and discuss a few famously Tarot-inspired poems\, and Cisewski will describe the process she’s been using the past couple years. After that\, you’ll generate work using the cards. Please feel free to bring your own deck if you’ve got one! If not\, that’s okay\, too! \nAfter the workshop\, Cisewski will read from her latest book\, The Becoming Game. \nAfter the frightening results of the 2016 election\, Paula Cisewski adopted a new writing practice and coping mechanism. She would invite a friend over for tea and a tarot reading. Later she would share with them the first draft of a poem inspired by the cards\, the conversation\, and whatever of the world had leaked in. The practice made space for meaningful communication in an uncertain time.” Precise\, furious\, political\, controversial\, paradoxical\, provocative\, confessional\, intimate\, friendly\, honest\, metric\, exuberant\, crazy\, subdued poetry\,” Grzegorz Kwiatowski wrote in praise of The Becoming Game. “Everything here contradicts and collides because this poetry contains many voices\, many styles\, many stories\, but they all belong to one author.”
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/paula-cisewski/
LOCATION:PorchLight Literary Arts Center\, 1019 E Washington St\, Iowa City\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
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