October 30, 2007 (REVISED November 9, 2007) Writers From Iowa's International Writing Program Will Read Their Works, Nov. 15

Writers from the distinguished International Writing Program at the University of Iowa will read from their works at the Library of Congress at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 15, in the Mumford Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC. The event, jointly sponsored by the Library’s John W. Kluge Center and the International Writing Program, is free and open to the public; no tickets are required. The International Writing Program at the University of Iowa introduces talented writers to American life, providing them with the time and setting to produce literary work. The program has welcomed more than 1,000 writers to the United States from more than 100 countries in its nearly 40-year history. Five writers are scheduled to read: Elena Bossi from Argentina; Khaled Khalifa, Syria; Kavery Nambisam, India; Aziz Shakir-Tash, Bulgaria; and Ognjen Spahic, Montenegro. Elena Bossi is a poet, essayist, literary critic and editor from Argentina. She has written one collection of poetry, titled in translation, “Rags” (1990), and several volumes of literary criticism, most recently “Magical Beings of Argentina” (2007). Her work has been published in numerous magazines and journals. Khaled Khalifa is a screenwriter and novelist from Syria who has written extensively for film and television and published three novels, titled in translation “The Guard of Deception” (1993); “The Gypsy Notebooks” (2000); and “In Praise of Hatred” (2006). Kavery Nambisam is a novelist, fiction writer and essayist from India who has worked as a surgeon in rural areas throughout her country. She currently runs a medical center for workers in Maharashtra and a Learning Center for their children. She has written five novels, most recently “The Hills of Angheri” (2005) and several children’s books. Aziz Shakir-Tash is a poet, fiction writer and translator from Bulgaria who works in Arabic, Turkish and English, both as a scholar and as a writer. He has written three books of poetry, most recently “A Sky at 33” (2007), and one collection of short stories, “Rain Apocrypha” (2004). Ognjen Spahic, a fiction writer from Montenegro, studied civil engineering and philosophy at the University of Montenegro. He has written one novel, “Hansen’s Children” (2004), and two collections of short stories, “All That” (2001) and “Winter Search” (2007). The International Writing Program participants are supported by the U.S. Department of State, grants from cultural institutions, governments abroad and private funds, and through bilateral agreements with other countries. For more information visit www.uiowa.edu/~iwp/. Through a generous endowment from John W. Kluge, the Library of Congress established the Kluge Center in 2000 to bring together the world’s best thinkers to stimulate, energize and distill wisdom from the Library’s rich resources and to interact with policy-makers in Washington. For more information on fellowships, grants and programs, visit www.loc.gov/kluge/.