BETWEEN THE LINES: THE WRITING EXPERIENCE – FACT SHEET

When: July 13 – 30^th, 2013

Where: University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; Chicago, Illinois; and Washington D.C.

What: Between the Lines (BTL) is a two-week program designed to bring together young Russian and American students who are interested in creative writing, either as a practice or as a career. The backdrop of the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City – the only UNESCO Creative City of Literature in North America – will serve as inspiration for the students to grow as writers and provide them with the opportunity to explore cross-cultural dialogues on creative writing and literature. Sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the U.S. State Department and administered with the help of U.S. embassies and consulates, the BTL program is in its second year.

Participants will attend courses designed to both increase awareness of world literatures and improve their craft, including an English-language literature seminar and a language-specific writing workshop (Russian or English). Classes will be led by teachers who are respected writers in their own right. Extracurricular events and nightly activities allow students to deepen their understanding of one another’s culture through their interactions with each other and with the larger community. At the end of the two weeks in Iowa City, students will spend one day in Chicago and then three days touring cultural and literary highlights in Washington D.C. with programming created by ECA and IWP.

Participants will travel to and from the United States in the company of an adult chaperone. They will live in a residence hall and be supervised by live-in, trained counselors. The chaperone and counselors will work together to help create a lively, supportive writing community. Travel, lodging and meals will be paid for.

Who we’re looking for: Talented, curious, enthusiastic young writers of fiction and/or poetry who meet the following criteria:

· Will be age 16, 17, 18, or 19 as of July 13, 2013

· Able to demonstrate proficiency in English (reading, writing, and speaking)

· Able to engage and thrive in an atmosphere that brings together different kinds of people and views

Application requirements: Qualified nominees should submit the following to U.S. embassy or consulate officials:

· 6-8 pages of creative work (poetry and/or fiction ONLY) in Russian

· 6-8 pages of creative work (poetry and/or fiction ONLY) in English

· 2-5 pages of creative work (poetry and/or fiction ONLY) , in either language (Russian or English), in response to one (1) of the following writing prompts:

o A person comes home and sees that someone new is moving into the apartment next to him/her. In the hallway is a giant cage with a colorful bird that talks, an open box full of shiny black shoes, and a strange machine the person has never seen before. The new neighbor’s door is open – what happens? Write a short story or poem.

o Write a story or poem inspired by this statement: “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”

· A statement of purpose (250 words maximum, in English) describing why creative writing is important to her/him and life in Russia, and what he/she hopes to learn at our program in Iowa.

Date: 2015-04-20; view: 724