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20-655: The IWP was founded by Paul Engle and Hualing Nieh Engle as a non-academic, internationally focused counterpart to the Iowa Writers' Workshop . Under the Engles' guidance, hundreds of writers came to Iowa, particularly from parts of the world where literary and personal freedom was often restricted. During the 1970s and 1980s the program's reach towards nations in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and eastern Europe expanded significantly. In 1979

40-560: A Rhodes Scholar 1933-1936). As a student at Iowa, Engle was one of the earliest recipients of an advanced degree awarded for creative work: his first collection Worn Earth , which went on to win the Yale Series of Younger Poets . His second book, American Song (1934), was given a rave front-page review in the New York Times Book Review and was even, briefly, a bestseller. From 1954 to 1959, Engle served as series editor for

60-644: A member of the IWP Advisory Board. Other past directors include Fredrick Woodard (1988), Clark Blaise (1990), Steven Ungar (1998), and Sandra Barkan (1999). The primary residency, which takes place each fall, offers writers the opportunity to participate in American literary, academic, and cultural life through talks, lectures, readings, screenings, stage performances, school visits, and travel, while providing time for personal writing and creative work. University of Iowa students can take several classes built around

80-451: A time. Contest requirements were first articulated in the summer of 1920. The series had already published four books, all written by Yale students, and the judges sought to attract a nationwide pool of applicants. A promotional statement gave the following, somewhat vague eligibility requirements: "Anyone is eligible provided he (or she) is young and comparatively unknown. The age limit is understood to be about thirty." A formal set of rules

100-861: Is supported by the University of Iowa. The IWP also administers grants for writers sponsored for their residency by private and public cultural organizations in the United States and abroad. The IWP itself has been featured in a number of literary works, including: In 1973, the United States Information Agency funded a documentary about the IWP, Community of the Imagination . Among the program's alumni are: Many alumni presentations, including audio and video, have been archived. Paul Engle Paul Hamilton Engle (October 12, 1908 – March 22, 1991),

120-789: The O. Henry Prize . During his tenure as director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop (1941–1965), he was responsible for bringing some of the finest writers of the day to Iowa City . Robert Lowell , John Berryman , Robie Macauley , Kurt Vonnegut and many other prominent novelists and poets served as faculty under Engle. He increased enrollment and oversaw numerous students of future fame and influence, including Flannery O'Connor , Philip Levine , Mark Costello , Marvin Bell , Joe Nicholson , Sunil Gangopadhyay , Donald Justice , Raymond Carver , Douglas Kent Hall , Andre Dubus , and Robert Bly . During his tenure, Engle raised millions of dollars in support of

140-615: The Engles coordinated a "Chinese Weekend", one of the first significant meetings of writers from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Chinese diaspora since 1949 . For their efforts to connect writers worldwide and to promote international understanding, the Engles were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976. Hualing Nieh Engle and Paul Engle co-directed the IWP until 1977, after which Engle retired and Hualing continued as sole director. She retired in 1988, and currently serves as

160-413: The University of Iowa, 1966) has compiled a comprehensive bibliography entitled Paul Engle: A Checklist of books Paul Engle authored, as well as of publications he edited or to which he contributed. Yale Series of Younger Poets The Yale Series of Younger Poets is an annual event of Yale University Press aiming to publish the debut collection of a promising American poet. Established in 1918,

180-611: The Younger Poets Prize is the longest-running annual literary award in the United States. Each year, the Younger Poets Competition accepts submissions from American poets who have not previously published a book of poetry. Once the judge has chosen a winner, the Press publishes a book-length manuscript of the winner's poetry as the next volume in the series. All poems must be original, and only one manuscript may be entered at

200-414: The book series 91stM Books , housed at the independent Autumn Hill Books . In recent years the program has broadened its efforts to promote international connections among writers by organizing a variety of events, some of which take place outside the United States. Among these are: A major source of funding for writers attending the IWP is the U.S. Department of State , and the program's administration

220-493: The judgeship of Stephen Vincent Benét . Benet was judge from 1933 to 1942, followed by Archibald MacLeish from 1944 to 1946. Margaret Walker 's For My People was the last volume selected by Benet. Auden assumed the judgeship after MacLeish. The contest is regarded by some to have been at its height from 1947 to 1959, when W. H. Auden was its judge. His then-young poets included Adrienne Rich , James Wright , W. S. Merwin , John Ashbery , and John Hollander . The period

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240-578: The program whose shape and direction proved the model for hundreds of writing programs that have followed. Vonnegut described Engle in a 1967 letter in this fashion: "The former head, Paul Engle, is still around, is a hayseed clown, a foxy grandpa, a terrific promoter, who, if you listen closely, talks like a man with a paper asshole." In 1967, following his departure as director of the workshop, Engle and future second wife Nieh Hualing co-founded The University of Iowa's International Writing Program , which provided for dozens of published authors from around

260-540: The series reflected the neoclassical tastes of the older generation adjudicating the competition, all men who had received degrees from Yale in the late-19th century. The anglophilic publishers were heavily influenced by English poetry , especially the contemporary Georgian poetry , and the competition itself was directly influenced by the similar "Adventures All" poetry series of Oxford University Press . The contest solidified its importance in American literature under

280-625: The time of his death (in Chicago 's O'Hare Airport on his way to accept an award in Poland), Engle was the author of more than a dozen collections of poetry, a novel, a memoir, an opera libretto (for Philip Bezanson ), and even a children's book. Engle wrote numerous articles and reviews for many of the largest periodicals of his day. His papers are held at the University of Iowa and Coe College . NB: for further reference, Richard B. Weber (Library of

300-518: The work and presence of the IWP residents. Literary translation is an integral part of the program's mission. At the time of Hualing's retirement, two volumes of selected IWP writings had been compiled under the title Writing From The World , in addition to another collection, The World Comes To Iowa , and more than a dozen individual volumes in the Iowa Translation Series. Today, the IWP supports 91st Meridian, an online literary journal, and

320-662: The world to visit Iowa City each year to write and collaborate. Engle left the Writer's Workshop permanently in 1969 to devote himself full-time to the international program. One of these various programmes' enduring legacies was that they helped mainstream humanist ideals of literature and writing: The most famous principles advocated (though not created by the workshops) were writing from self-knowledge ( write what you know ) and with self-discipline ( show, don’t tell ), with Engle summarizing his philosophy as "sensations, not doctrines; experiences, not dogmas; memories, not philosophies.". At

340-465: Was adopted in 1924. In addition to specifying page limits and other manuscript requirements, these new rules limited the contest to American citizens younger than 30. However, current rules allow poets of any age who have not published a book of poetry to be considered. Although the contest was briefly opened to any writer of English-language poetry under Auden's judgeship, it has remained limited to American citizens ever since. The Younger Poets Series

360-534: Was also notable for the two-time refusal of Sylvia Plath 's manuscript Two Lovers , and Colossus , which was subsequently published in England. Between 1969 and 1977, overseen by Stanley Kunitz , included volumes by Carolyn Forché and Robert Hass ; Hass later became the Poet Laureate of the United States . The judgeship of W. S. Merwin , from 1998 to 2003, was fraught with controversy, as he refused to select

380-837: Was an American poet , editor , teacher, literary critic, novelist , and playwright. He is remembered as the long-time director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and as co-founder of the International Writing Program (IWP), both at the University of Iowa . Engle was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Hamilton Allen, a livery stable owner, and Evelyn (Reinheiner) Engle. He grew up in the Wellington Heights section of Cedar Rapids. He graduated from Washington High School (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) , and later attended Coe College (class of 1931), The University of Iowa , Columbia University , and Merton College, Oxford (where he studied as

400-573: Was established in 1919 by Clarence Day , whose brother George Parmly Day founded Yale University Press with his wife Wilhelmine in 1908. The competition's first judge, Charlton Miner Lewis , was a prominent professor in Yale's English department. The inaugural competition took place after the end of World War I , just as an influx of young veterans returned from fighting in Europe and entered college. Modernist poetry emerged in this period, but early entries in

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