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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251108T130000
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SUMMARY:Queer Writers’ Check In
DESCRIPTION:This group is for queer writers looking to build literary community together. Each session will include free writing\, discussion of works in progress\, and general literary support. Occasionally\, there will be guests and opportunities for trading work. The group will meet at PorchLight Literary Arts Center (1019 E Washington St\, Iowa City) and is co-hosted by Public Space One.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/queer-writers-check-in/2025-11-08/
LOCATION:PorchLight Literary Arts Center\, 1019 E Washington St\, Iowa City\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:General
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251116T093000
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DTSTAMP:20260405T130330
CREATED:20251107T153134Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251107T153223Z
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SUMMARY:Writing from Stillness: A Workshop on Mindfulness\, Presence\, and Creative Clarity
DESCRIPTION:In her book Relational Mindfulness: A Handbook for Deepening Our Connection with Ourselves\, Each Other\, and the Planet\, Deborah Eden Tull writes that “Deep listening is an act of love. Listening to life as it unfolds moment by moment\, with our full presence\, is the essence of meditation.” In this workshop we’ll explore–through writing and mindfulness exercises– how paying close\, mindful attention to what’s around us\, and within us\, can enhance both our writing and our lived experience as creators. We’ll learn how mindful awareness can quiet the inner critic\, calm our hearts\, sharpen our powers of observation\, and deepen our writing practice. With the help of guided meditations and generative writing prompts\, participants will leave feeling more grounded\, open\, and creatively engaged. This workshop may be of benefit to writers\, professionals\, creatives\, journalers\, or anyone seeking clarity and calm through mindful writing. \nLink: This workshop is free but registration is required. \nInstructor Bio: \nStephen Pradarelli is the communications director for the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation\, a global Buddhist organization founded by Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. In 2016\, he founded Winding Path Sangha\, which offers regular sitting and walking meditation opportunities. He’s a former journalist\, communications strategist\, crisis manager\, book editor\, essayist\, and fiction writer. He’s also a private pilot and loves reading\, hiking\, traveling\, and playing guitar.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/writing-from-stillness-a-workshop-on-mindfulness-presence-and-creative-clarity/
LOCATION:PorchLight Literary Arts Center\, 1019 E Washington St\, Iowa City\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:General
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251116T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251116T140000
DTSTAMP:20260405T130330
CREATED:20251014T143441Z
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SUMMARY:2025 Paul Engle Prize Ceremony Honoring Cole Swensen
DESCRIPTION:Cole Swensen has been named the 14th 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. \nSwensen is a poet\, editor\, and translator\, who taught in the Iowa Writers’ Workshop from 2001 to 2012. She then taught at Brown University until her retirement in 2023. \nShe is the author of 20 collections of poetry\, including And And And\, a finalist for the Griffin Poetry Prize\, Art in Time\, Gravesend\, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award in Poetry; Goest\, a finalist for the National Book Award; Try\, winner of the Iowa Poetry Prize and the San Francisco State University Poetry Center Book Award; and New Math\, winner of the National Poetry Series. \nSwensen has translated more than 30 books of French poetry\, creative nonfiction\, and art criticism\, and won the 2024 National Translation Award from ALTA and the 2025 Stephen Mitchell Translation Prize. She was awarded a 2006 Guggenheim Fellowship and has been a writer-in-residence at Yale’s Beinecke Library\, the Pratt Institute\, and Temple University. Swensen was the founder and editor of La Presse\, an imprint of Fence Books that was dedicated to the translation of contemporary French poetry. \nSwensen will receive the award at a ceremony at 2 p.m. on November 16\, at the Coralville Public Library. Christopher Merrill will join Swensen in conversation. The event is free and open to the public. Book signing and reception to follow. \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. \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\, and Camille Dungy. Visit www.iowacityofliterature.org/paul-engle-day for more information about the prize and past winners.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/2025-paul-engle-prize-ceremony-honoring-cole-swensen/
LOCATION:Coralville Public Library\, 1401 5th St.\, Coralville\, IA\, 52241\, United States
CATEGORIES:General
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251118T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251118T190000
DTSTAMP:20260405T130330
CREATED:20251009T154641Z
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SUMMARY:Paul Engle’s Community of Writers
DESCRIPTION:Join us for a special conversation with Paul Engle’s daughter\, Mary Burge. Growing up during the early years of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop\, Mary witnessed its history firsthand and will share vivid stories from that time. She will be joined by her partner\, Will Boutelle\, the “boy next door” in Engle’s American Child sonnets\, who will also share memories and reflections. \nFeaturing special guest\, Reed Hagan\, winner of the 2025 Paul Engle Glory of the Senses High School Essay Contest. \nThis program is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. \nPaul Engle (October 12\, 1908 – March 22\, 1991)\, was born in Cedar Rapids\, Iowa\, on October 12\, 1908\, and grew up in a frame house in the Wellington Heights area. After graduating from Washington High School in Cedar Rapids\, Engle attended Coe College and the University of Iowa where he was one of the first students to earn an advanced degree based on a thesis of creative work—a collection of poems.  His first published collection\, Worn Earth\, went on to win the Yale Series of Young Poets. His best-selling second book of poetry\, American Song\, was heralded on the cover of the New York Times Book Review in a headline declaring him “A New Voice in American Poetry”.  After Iowa\, Engle travelled as a Rhodes Scholar to Oxford University in England. \nThough Engle did not found the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa\, he built its reputation as the top graduate writing program in the United States. During his tenure as director\, he was responsible for luring some of the finest writers of the day to Iowa City: Phillip Roth\, John Berryman\, Kurt Vonnegut\, and many other prominent novelists and poets served as faculty under Engle. Additionally\, Engle increased enrollment and oversaw numerous students of future fame and influence\, including Flannery O’Connor\, John Irving\, Raymond Carver\, William Stafford\, and Robert Bly. \nAfter directing the Writers’ Workshop for twenty-four years\, Engle and future-second-wife Nieh Hualing co-founded The University of Iowa’s International Writing Program\, which invited dozens of published authors from around the globe to visit the University of Iowa to write and collaborate. For their work with the IWP\, Engle and his wife were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976.  Engle died at the age of eighty-two\, having published fourteen books of poetry\, a novel\, a memoir\, and an opera libretto\, and his literary legacy lives on in the lives and works of those authors he helped to educate and inspire. \nIn 2000\, nearly a decade after his death\, Paul Engle was declared Iowa’s “Poet of the Century” and then-Governor Tom Vilsack declared that Engle’s birthday\, October 12th\, would hereafter be known as “Paul Engle Day” to honor this life of creativity\, mentorship\, and generosity. \nLearn more about Paul Engle by watching our documentary\, City of Literature\n\n 
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/paul-engles-utopian-community-of-writers/
LOCATION:Iowa City Public Library\, 123 S. Linn St.\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:General
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