Kei Miller Interview, March, 2009
Kei Miller, the 28-year-old Jamaican poet, fiction writer and essayist who is in residence this fall at the University of Iowa International Writing Program, calls his homeland “a remarkably religious… more
Anat Pick and Alina Nelega Reading, September, 2008
In this Shambaugh House series reading, Christopher Merrill introduces each of the speakers. Alina Nelega reads and performs segments from her mono-drama “Amelia Breathes Deeply.” Anat Pick performs selections of… more
Patricia Hampl Discusses Regionalism, October, 2006
Patricia Hampl discusses regionalism with participants of the International Writing Program. Hampl defines what regionalism means to her and presents her own definition of the term. Hampl speculates that Midwesterners… more
Michael Gartner Reading, December, 2005
Michael Gartner reads from and discusses his book, Outrage, Passion, and Common Sense. Gartner, who himself won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing, discusses the great newspaper editors and… more
David Albahari Reading, December, 2005
David Albahari reads from his book, Götz and Meyer. He begins by discussing his time spent in the International Writing Program in 1986, and how those experiences have informed his… more
Deborah Noyes Reading, November, 2005
Deborah Noyes reads from her novel, Angel and Apostle, intended as a “revisionist’s look” at Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Noyes explains her decision to write a sequel to The Scarlet… more
Meredith Broussard reading, November, 2005
Editor Meredith Broussard reads from her book, The Encyclopedia of Exes: Twenty-Six Stories by Men of Love Gone Wrong, a collection of fictional stories by male writers that explore love… more
Faith Sullivan Reading, November, 2005
Faith Sullivan reads from her novel entitled Gardenias, a sequel to her previous novel, Cape Ann. She begins by reading a poem by a fellow southern Minnesotan poet, Phoebe Hanson. … more
Jeremy Mercer Reading, November, 2005
Jeremy Mercer reads from and discusses his memoir, Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co.. He goes on to detail the events that led up to… more
Craig Davidson reading, November, 2005
Canadian novelist Craig Davidson reads from his collection of eight violent, macabre, and raw short stories, Rust and Bone; his characters include gamblers, fighters, and sex addicts. Davidson admits that… more
Poets Against the War Reading, November, 2005
This reading was organized in conjunction with the national grassroots movement, Poets Against the War (www.poetsagainstthewar.org), and features poets associated with the Writers’ Workshop and the International Writing… more
Mark Blumberg Reading, November, 2005
Mark Blumberg discusses his work, Basic Instinct: The Genesis of Behavior. Blumberg, a neuroscientist at the University of Iowa, begins by discussing various popular culture headlines dealing with genetics and… more
Donato Ndongo-Bidyogo Reading and Discussion, October, 2005
Michael Ugarte, a translator of Donato Ndongo-Bidyogo’s fiction, reads an English translation of Ndongo-Bidyo’s short story, “The Dream.” Ugarte shares the circumstances of the story’s original publication in 1974 and… more
Kay Redfield Jamison Reading, October, 2005
Kay Redfield Jamison discusses and reads from her book entitled Exuberance: the Passion for Life. Jamison points out that the state of “exuberance” is rarely studied in psychology; psychologists tend… more
Ted Kooser Reading, October, 2005
Ted Kooser reads various poems in honor of the release of his collection of poems entitled Delights and Shadows.
Kooser explains his tradition of annually sending postcards inscribed… more
Anna Rogoshnikova and Edi Shukriu Reading, October, 2005
IWP Director Christopher Merrill introduces a joint reading featuring Kazakhstani author Anna Rogozhnikova and Edi Shukriu from Kosovo. Rogoshnikova reads a selection of short fiction pieces. Shukriu reads from the… more
Paul Collins Reading, October, 2005
Paul Collins reads from his nonfiction work, The Trouble with Tom: The Strange Afterlife and Times of Thomas Paine. Collins explains how his coming across an article within an old… more
Bill Thompson, Julie Zickefoose, and Donald E. Kroodsma Reading, October, 2005
Bill Thompson and Julie Zickefoose discuss their book entitled Identify Yourself: The 50 Most Common Birding Identification Challenges. They explain how the book evolved from a column that Thompson edits… more
John Kinsella Poetry Reading, September, 2005
Poet John Kinsella reads from two of his recent publications, Peripheral Light: Selected and New Poems and The New Arcadia. Kinsella describes how his experience of growing up and living… more
Josef Haslinger, Kiki Petrosino, and Dr. Ma Thida: IWP/Writer’s Workshop Joint Reading, September, 2005
Josef Haslinger reads an excerpt from his short story, “The Battle for Vienna.” Writers’ Workshop student Kiki Petrosino reads a selection of poems organized, she explains, around the theme of… more
Katherine Towler Reading, July, 2005
Katherine Towler reads from Evening Ferry, her second novel in a trilogy. During a question and answer session, Towler describes her childhood spent living on the grounds of the General… more
Bart Yates Reading, July, 2005
Bart Yates reads from his second novel entitled The Brothers Bishop. During a question and answer session, Yates describes his writing process as well as his subsequent decision to write… more
Elizabeth Kostova Reading, July, 2005
Elizabeth Kostova reads from her novel entitled The Historian. During a question and answer session, Kostova details how the topic for her novel came from the stories about Dracula that… more
Lee Child Reading, June, 2005
Lee Child reads from his novel, One Shot: A Jack Reacher Novel. Child then explains his path to becoming a writer, which began when he was fired from his corporate… more
W.S. Merwin Q & A, May, 2005
W.S. Merwin answers questions from an audience. He discusses how politics and the media can intervene in the life of an individual. Merwin also identifies poets that have influenced his… more
Andramalech’s Monologue, performed by Hilario Saavedra, April, 2005
Actor Hilario Saavedra performs an intense monologue on a minimally lit, bare stage. The monologue is largely non-linear, reminiscent of post-modernist thought, and heavy with alliteration. The character of Andramalech… more
Jodi Picoult Reading, April, 2005
Jodi Picoult reads from her novel Vanishing Acts. She discusses the extensive research that went into the preparation of the novel, focusing primarily on the idea of recovered memory. She… more
Erin Hart Reading, March, 2005
Erin Hart reads from her mystery novel, Lake of Sorrows. Hart gives a brief plot synopsis, explaining that the novel is set in modern day Ireland where officials have just… more
Marilyn Abildskov Reading, March, 2005
Marilyn Abildskov reads from her memoir entitled The Men in My Country. Abildskov gives a brief context of her memoir, claiming that it is about the time she spent teaching… more
Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards Reading, March, 2005
Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards discuss their book entitled Grassroots: A Field Guide for Feminist Activism. Baumgardner and Richards discuss their early days working together at Ms. magazine, and their… more
Aimee Phan Reading, March, 2005
Aimee Phan reads from her collection of short stories entitled We Shall Never Meet. Phan gives a brief historical background of her stories, detailing the project “Operation Baby Lift” during… more
Eleni Sikelianos Reading, March, 2005
Eleni Sikelianos reads a selection of prose and poetry from her two most recently-published books, The Book of Jon and The California Poem. Sikelianos fields questions from the audience. She… more
Suzanne Lebsock Reading, February, 2005
Suzanne Lebsock reads from her work, Murder in Virginia: Southern Justice on Trial. Lebsock, who considers herself a social historian, details the 1895 ax murder of a white woman in… more
Curtis Sittenfeld Reading, February, 2005
Iowa Writers’ Workshop alumnus Curtis Sittenfeld reads from her debut novel Prep and then answers questions from the audience and host Julie Englander for the rest of the hour. Sittenfeld… more
Andrew Sean Greer Reading, February, 2005
Andrew Sean Greer reads from his novel entitled The Confessions of Max Tivoli. Greer explains that Max, the protagonist of the novel, grows physically younger as the years of his… more
Steve Healey and William Waltz Reading, February, 2005
Steve Healey reads selections from his collection of poetry entitled Earthling. Waltz then reads selections from his own collection of poetry entitled Zoo Music.
During a brief question… more
Rattawut Lapcharoensap Reading, February, 2005
Rattawut Lapcharoensap reads “Draft Day” from his collection of stories entitled Sightseeing. Spending his childhood moving between Bangkok, Thailand and Chicago, Lapcharoensap discusses his time spent in the Thai armed… more
Pam Houston Reading, February, 2005
Author Pam Houston reads from her novel, Sight Hound. She explains the format of her novel. Each chapter is written in the first-person, from the perspectives of different characters, including… more
Mary Doria Russell Reading, February, 2005
Mary Doria Russell reads fromA Thread of Grace, a work of historical fiction. Russell explains her choice to write about Jewish Italians during World War II, claiming that approximately 85%… more
Jennifer Haigh Reading, February, 2005
Jennifer Haigh reads from her novel, Baker Towers. She discusses how her childhood experience of growing up in a small mining town in Pennsylvania ultimately informed the setting for Baker… more
David Laskin Reading, January, 2005
David Laskin discusses his nonfiction work, The Children’s Blizzard, which details the blizzard that hit the Midwest on January 12, 1888. Laskin details the terrible storm, pointing out that the… more
Lisa Reardon Reading, November, 2004
Lisa Reardon reads from her novel entitled The Mercy Killers. Reardon discusses the lengthy research she conducted for the novel, which is set during the time of the Vietnam War. … more
Patricia Foster Reading, November, 2004
Patricia Foster reads two excerpts from her book of essays entitled Just Beneath My Skin: Autobiography and Self-Discovery. Foster, a professor in the Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of… more
Gish Jen Reading, October, 2004
Gish Jen reads from her novel entitled The Love Wife. Jen gives a brief synopsis of the novel, explaining that it focuses on the relationships between members in a contemporary… more
Tamora Pierce Reading, October, 2004
Tamora Pierce discusses her young adult fantasy novel, Trickster’s Queen. She takes questions from the audience, which is mostly comprised of young adults. Pierce lays down a few ground rules… more
David Gilbert Reading, October, 2004
David Gilbert reads from his novel entitled The Normals. During a brief question and answer session, Gilbert explains the research he conducted for his novel, where he visited a facility… more
Goretti Kyomuhendo and Hein Willemse Reading, October, 2004
Peter Nazareth introduces Goretti Kyomuhendo, a fiction writer from Uganda. Kyomuhendo reads “Because I Love this Land,” a poem written by another author. Kyomuhendo then reads from her work Secrets… more
Rick DeMarinis Reading, October, 2004
Rick DeMarinis reads the title story from his collection of short stories entitled Apocalypse Then. During a question and answer session, DeMarinis discusses his time spent as an engineer at… more
Thomas Frank Reading, October, 2004
Thomas Frank reads selections from his book entitled What’s the Matter With Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America. Frank goes on to detail a phenomenon he terms “The… more
Mona Smith Reading, October, 2004
Mona Smith discusses and reads from her non-fiction work, Becoming Something: the Story of Canada Lee. Her book outlines the “meteoric rise” and “precipitous fall” of African American actor Canada… more
Timothy Liu and Bruce Beasley Reading, October, 2004
Timothy Liu and Bruce Beasley read selections from their various poetry collections. During a short question and answer session, Liu and Beasley discuss the allusions to visual art that frequently… more
Vida Vendela Reading, September, 2004
Vendela Vida reads from her novel And Now You Can Go. She follows by explaining that the idea for the story comes from a ten page excerpt from a novel… more
Rebecca Wolff and Catherine Wagner Reading, September, 2004
Poet Rebecca Wolff reads a selection of poems from her collection, Figment, and also reads a few new, unpublished poems. Catherine Wagner reads a selection of poems from her collections… more
Ilya Kaminsky Reading, September, 2004
The tape begins with Christopher Merrill in the process of introducing the Russian poet Ilya Kaminsky. Kaminsky reads selected poems from his work Dancing in Odessa. The poems read include… more
Dan Chaon Reading, September, 2004
Dan Chaon reads from his novel, You Remind Me of Me. Chaon discusses his portrayal of the Doberman in the novel, and how he successfully choreographed the shift of… more
Lucia Watson and Teresa Marrone Reading, September, 2004
Lucia Watson begins by discussing her book entitled Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland. Watson who is chef and proprietor of Lucia’s Restaurant in Minneapolis, Minnesota, discusses the importance… more
Michelle Glazer Reading, September, 2004
Michelle Glazer reads a selection of poems from Aggregate of Disturbances and poems from her first book, It Is Hard to Look at What We Came to Think We’d Come… more
Yan Mo Reading, September, 2004
Christopher Merrill introduces Hualing Nieh Engle who then introduces Mo Yan. Mo Yan speaks only in Chinese and so a translator repeats what he is saying in English. It… more
IWP and Writers’ Workshop Reading at Prairie Lights, September, 2004
Christopher Merrill introduces each of the speakers. Michal Horvecký from Slovakia begins by reading from his short story “Suede.” Kurt Folch from Chile then reads some of his poems, including… more
Helon Habila and Kofi Awoonor Reading, September, 2004
Christopher Merrill introduces Sandra Barkan who then introduces the African writers Helon Habila and Kofi Awoonor who are speaking as part of the Year of the Arts and Humanities… more
Year of the Arts and Humanities Kickoff Celebration: The Future of Nonfiction, September, 2004
Christopher Merrill introduces Robin Hemley who begins by reading his essay “No Pleasure But Meanness.” Hemley discusses the difference between memoirs and general nonfiction. He is drawn to writers who… more
The Year of the Arts and Humanities Kickoff Celebration: The Case Against Poetry, September, 2004
Christopher Merrill introduces Edward Hirsch who reads his poem “Krackow 6 A.M.” Hirsch discusses the history of arguments against poetry such as that of Plato’s. Hirsch believes that poetry uses… more
Iowa Review Reading, September, 2004
David Hamilton, editor of the Iowa Review, begins the reading with a moment of silence for the hostage tragedy in Beslan, Russia. He notes that every issue of the Iowa… more
Thisbe Nissen Reading, September, 2004
Thisbe Nissen reads from her novel, Osprey Island. Nissen, who received her MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in 1997, discusses the research she conducted for her book. She discusses… more
George Hagen Reading, July, 2004
George Hagen reads from his first novel entitled The Laments. Hagen discusses the similarities between his childhood experiences and the novel, pointing out that “the places are real, the events… more
Wayne Johnson Reading, July, 2004
Wayne Johnson reads excerpts from two of his books, The Baseball Diaries and The Devil You Know. Johnson then goes on to discuss his childhood years spent in northern Minnesota,… more
Kent Haruf Reading, July, 2004
Kent Haruf reads from his novel, Eventide, which is a sequel to his previous novel, Plainsong. Haruf acknowledges that while his growing up in small Colorado towns influenced his novels,… more
Sandra Scofield Reading, June, 2004
Sandra Scofield reads from her memoir entitled Occasional Sin.
moreLarry Watson Reading, June, 2004
Larry Watson reads from his novel entitled Orchard. During a question and answer session, Watson discusses his writing process, claiming: “Often I feel like I’m writing for the work itself—if… more
Jennifer Stevenson Reading, June, 2004
Jennifer Stevenson reads a selection from her novel entitled Trash Sex Magic. During a question and answer session, Stevenson discusses the importance of nature in her novel, calling it a… more
Gina Franco Reading, June, 2004
Gina Franco reads selection of poems from The Keepsake Storm. Franco explains how both her upbringing in a Latino culture, and later her study of the traditional literary canon, informed… more
Seth Kantner Reading, June, 2004
Seth Kantner reads selections from his novel, Ordinary Wolves. During a brief question and answer session, Kantner discusses how closely the dialect in the book matches the true dialect of… more
Douglas Unger and Rachel Pastan, June, 2004
Douglas Unger reads the short story “Leslie and Sam” from his collection entitled Looking for War. Rachel Pastan then reads an excerpt from her novel entitled This Side of Married. … more
Tim Tyson Reading, June, 2004
Tim Tyson reads from his memoir, “Blood Done Sign My Name.” Tyson describes his childhood in Oxford, North Carolina, and the murder of an African American man by Tyson’s white… more
Karen Joy Fowler Reading, May, 2004
Karen Joy Fowler reads selections from her novel The Jane Austen Book Club. She explains how she conceived the idea for the novel while at reading at an independent bookstore. … more
Anchee Min Reading, May, 2004
Anchee Min reads from her fourth novel, Empress Orchid. The novel, set in 19th century China, follows the rise of the last Empress Dowager of China. Min describes the difficulty… more
Andrei Codrescu Reading, May, 2004
Andrei Codrescu reads from his novel entitled Wakefield. Codrescu jokes about the fact that his publishers scheduled the first stop on his book tour for Iowa City, claiming that they… more
Jenna Blum Reading, May, 2004
Jenna Blum reads from her first novel entitled Those Who Save Us. Blum discusses the historical background of her book, which takes place in Nazi Germany during World War II. … more
Faith Adielé Reading, April, 2004
Faith Adielé reads excerpts from her memoir entitled Meeting Faith: the Forest Journals of a Black Buddhist Nun. Adielé, a woman of both Scandinavian and Nigerian descent, discusses her time… more
Christopher Merrill Reading, April, 2004
The author reads excerpts of Only the Nails Remain, a nonfiction book about his work and travels in the former Republic of Yugoslavia and his involvement with the literary demimonde… more
Robert Dana Reading, April, 2004
Robert Dana reads selections from his tenth collection of poems entitled The Morning of the Red Admirals. Robert mentions the poets James Galvin and Donald Justice at the start of… more
Amy Stewart Reading, April, 2004
Author Amy Stewart discusses her nonfiction work, The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms. Stewart, an avid gardener, notes that she first became interested in earthworms during a… more
Donald Morrill Reading, April, 2004
Donald Morrill reads a selection from his memoir entitled The Untouched Minutes. Morrill briefly explains the book, pointing out that it is based on a home intrusion that he and… more
Jon Woodward and Oni Buchanan Reading, March, 2004
Jon Woodward and Oni Buchanan read selections from both published and unpublished works.
moreGuy Vanderhaeghe Reading, March, 2004
Guy Vanderhaeghe reads from his novel entitled The Last Crossing. During a brief question and answer session, Vanderhaeghe discusses his writing process. He points out that he had initially written… more
Binnie Kirshenbaum Reading, March, 2004
Binnie Kirshenbaum reads from her novel entitled An Almost Perfect Moment. During a question and answer session, Kirshenbaum points out that the voices of the characters in the book had… more
Matthew Pearl Reading, March, 2004
Matthew Pearl reads from his novel The Dante Club. Pearl details the history of the actual Dante Club formed in Boston in the 1860’s. The club included such famous members… more
Barbara Cully and Ann Cummins Reading, February, 2004
Barbara Cully reads poems from her collection entitled Desire Reclining. Ann Cummins then reads the title story from her collection of short stories entitled Red Ant House. During a very… more
John D’Emilio Reading, February, 2004
John D’Emilio reads from his nonfiction book, Lost Prophets: the Life and Times of Bayard Rustin. D’Emilio discusses Rustin’s life as an African American homosexual civil rights leader in the… more
Haven Kimmel Reading, February, 2004
Haven Kimmel reads an as-yet unpublished short story entitled “That Old Time Religion.” The story is written in a unique Southern dialect, intended, she says, to imitate a college professor… more
Cheryl Peck Reading, February, 2004
Cheryl Peck reads from her collection of short stories, Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs. Peck addresses the difficulties of being both a large woman and a lesbian in today’s society.… more
G.C. Waldrep Reading, February, 2004
G.C. Waldrep reads a selection of poems from his book, Goldbeater’s Skin. In a question and answer session that follows, Waldrep recounts the story-telling traditions from the rural South and… more
Peter Manseau and Jeff Sharlet Reading, February, 2004
Peter Manseau and Jeff Sharlet read excerpts from their book entitled Killing the Buddha: a heretic’s Bible. During a brief question and answer session, Manseau and Sharlet discuss their online… more
Peter Matthiessen Q&A, November, 2003
American fiction and non-fiction writer Peter Matthiessen answers questions about his accomplishment as a writer and political and environmental activist.
moreAharon Shabtai Reading, October, 2003
Julie Englander hosts the reading. Christopher Merrill introduces the Israeli poet Aharon Shabtai. Shabtai reads selected poems, some of which come from his publications J’Accuse and Ziva, Zmora Bitan. His… more
Debora Kuan, Gregory Norminton, and Mirsad Sijaric Reading, October, 2003
Debora Kuan, a student of the Writers’ Workshop, reads several poems. International Writing Program participants Gregory Norminton and Mirsad Sijaric read several of their works. Norminton reads haiku he… more
Brit Bildøen, Barolong Seboni, and Minae Mizumura Reading, October, 2003
The three authors, Bildøen, Seboni, and Mizumura read excerpts from their pieces.
IWP and Writers’ Workshop Prairie Lights Reading, October, 2003
Vasugi Ganeshananthan reads from a short story influenced by the tradition of magical realism, describing a mystical and isolated society of women. Shimon Adaf reads poetry from his collections Metamorphosis… more