I’m delighted to announce that one of New Zealand’s most exciting poets, Hinemoana Baker, has been selected to attend the prestigious International Writing Program (IWP) at the University of Iowa this year.

Hinemoana Baker.

Hinemoana was a superb choice for the IWP, and we at the Embassy were delighted to champion her in the process.  In addition to writing poetry, she is a published fiction writer and playwright.  She maintains several popular blogs.  And she is a singer and spoken-word performer who has received rave reviews throughout New Zealand and Australia.  I don’t know where she finds all the energy … physical or creative.

Each autumn for the past 43 years the IWP has brought approximately two dozen dynamic writers from around the world to the University of Iowa to give readings and lectures, work on individual projects, and engage American audiences.  The program lasts 10 weeks and provides an intensive opportunity for the writers to share their literary cultures, learn from peers from around the world, and establish relationships within American literary and publishing circles.

As the program’s website explains, “The goal of the IWP is to provide authors with time and space – to write, read, translate, study, conduct research, travel, give readings, stage work, and become part of the creative community” in Iowa City, which has been designated by UNESCO as a world “City of Literature.”

University of Iowa, in the American heartland.

Since its founding in 1967, the IWP has hosted more than 1,200 writers from 120 nations.  My research indicates that Hinemoana will be the 15th Kiwi to be selected. Prior Kiwi participants have included Stevan Eldred-Grigg (1992), Sherryl Jordan (1993), Gordon McLauchlan (2002), and Brian Falkner (2008).  Seven writers from Australia have also participated in the program thus far.

I don’t think that Hinemoana leaves for Iowa until late August. So, if you bump into her on the street or in a cafe, please congratulate her.