Iowa City in Johnson County, Iowa — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Writers in a Café
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 26, 2021
1. Writers in a Café Marker
The University of Iowa Writers' Workshop was founded by Wilbur Schramm in 1936 as the first creative writing degree program in the United States.
Iowa City was recognized as the first City of Literature in the United States, and third in the world, by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
”Writers in a Café” was written on the occasion of Iowa City’s bid to become a UNESCO City of Literature.
Writers in a Café
Amid semi-trailers hauling produce grown in the deep blue-black topsoil left mid-country by an inexpressible Ice Age, there is known to be a place where words have dirt on their shoes. Where sky reaches to girdle the globe, the earth is etched by signs and portents. Many have bowed to their writing in attics and basements, at rest by the river or paused on a bridge, in the shadow of winter or eclipse, voicing local lives and affairs of state — as much by the reflections of leaves and the glow of prairie grasses left to live in the mind as by shapes in clouds or the dark news. They were here who made the sentence behave and misbehave, who added chapter and verse, and recast the myths. The café grows quiet as they write. The espresso machine lets go the steam someone may write in on the mirror. It is an impulse that survives disaster. The guns fail when surrounded
this page online
—Marvin Bell, 2008
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Education. In addition, it is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1936.
Location. 41° 39.539′ N, 91° 32.07′ W. Marker is in Iowa City, Iowa, in Johnson County. Marker is at the intersection of South Clinton Street and East College Street, on the right when traveling north on South Clinton Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Iowa City IA 52240, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Schaeffer Hall (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Old Capitol (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Old Stone Capitol (approx. 0.2 miles away); In Memoriam (approx. 0.2 miles away); Site of World's First Educational Television Station (approx. 0.2 miles away); Old Dental Building (approx. ¼ mile away); The First State University to Admit Women on an Equal Basis with Men (approx. ¼ mile away); St. Mary's Church (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Iowa City.
Also see . . .
1. University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. University website entry:
The first creative writing class at the University of Iowa ("Verse-making") was offered in the spring semester of 1897. In 1922, Carl Seashore, dean of the Graduate(Submitted on March 24, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)College, introduced a new model for the academic study of the arts when he announced that the University of Iowa would accept creative work as theses for advanced degrees. The School of Letters began to offer regular courses in writing in which selected students were tutored by resident and visiting writers. From the outset the program enjoyed a series of distinguished visitors, among them Robert Frost, Robert Penn Warren, John Berryman, Dylan Thomas, and Robert Lowell.Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 26, 20212. Writers in a Café Marker(looking east from South Clinton Street)
2. Iowa City • UNESCO City of Literature. Website homepage:
How could a small city in the center of the American heartland have such a wide-ranging impact on creative writing? The answer is that Iowa City, for its size, may be the most literary city on earth. It has a unique set of influential literary institutions, which explore new ways to teach and support writers. The writers and the institutions that have grown from them and for them have created a history and an identity in which its people take enormous pride, prizing a role in celebrating and honoring writers and good writing. The University of Iowa continues to invest substantially in the dozens of writing and literary programs. By designating Iowa City as a City of Literature, UNESCO has recognized Iowa City’s deeply elaborated cultural assets and its strong creative and economic foundations.(Submitted on March 24, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
3. How Did Iowa City Become the First UNESCO City of Literature in the United States?. Book Riot website entry:
• The Iowa Writers’ Workshop(Submitted on March 24, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
• The International Writing Program
• Iowa City Publishing
• Live From Prairie Lights
• Literary Events
• Literary Attractions
• A City of Creatives
As of 2008, the year Iowa City was named a UNESCO City of Literature, 30% of people in the city worked within a creative field.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 13, 2022. It was originally submitted on March 24, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 208 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 24, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
