BETWEEN THE LINES (BTL): PEACE AND THE WRITING EXPERIENCE
July 15 – July 30, 2022 (online)
BTL: Peace and the Writing Experience will bring together 30 international and 10 U.S.-based students, ages 15-18, for two weeks of intensive BTL summer programming hosted online by the International Writing Program (IWP) and the University of Iowa (UI) from July 15 to July 30, 2022. All programming is conducted in English and includes creative writing workshops, world literature seminars, literary readings and Q&As with visiting authors, youth and mentor conversation sessions, social opportunities for cultural exchange, as well as group and individual writing assignments outside of class. Upon the completion of the program, each participant will receive a certificate (PDF) and IWP will digitally publish the students’ writing as an anthology. The virtual program is free of cost for all selected participants.
More program information is available on the International Writing Program website at: https://iwp.uiowa.edu/programs/between-the-lines.
Eligibility requirements:
· Be 15-18 years old as of July 13, 2022;
· Proficient in English (reading, writing, and speaking);
· Be comfortable with cross-cultural dynamics and interested in close interaction with other international students;
· Be committed to attending all sessions and creative writing workshops as part of the program;
· Be passionate about writing.
How to apply:
Please send PART I and PART II of the application to USAinJoExchanges@state.gov. (You can include your answers for PART II in the body of the email that you send to us).
PART I
a) A writing sample of 6–8 pages of prose (creative fiction/nonfiction) and/or poetry in English. Critical essays (book reports, academic reports, and so forth) will not be accepted. Document types accepted: PDF, DOC, DOCX. All writing samples must be sent in 12-point font, double-spaced, and have one-inch margins. Poems may be single-spaced with multiple poems per page.
b) An essay, in English, of no more than three pages in response to the following prompt: “In our daily lives, we navigate many different roles—student, sibling, daughter, son, peer. We negotiate family, friends, religious groups, as well as class, gender, race, country, and so many other groups, adjusting the way we speak or behave to fit the demands of each encounter. As we move through the day, we work through how and why we occupy each particular role. What do you consider to be the strongest, most central aspects of your identity? What does it mean to you to be a member of (or seen as a member of) a particular group? In what way does your identity influence you as a creative writer and reader?”
c) A brief response (no longer than 300 words) to the following: “An essential component of Between the Lines is encouraging participants to explore the unfamiliar and unknown in a safe and supportive setting. Please describe a time in your past when you had to engage with a new situation, person, or idea that initially felt uncomfortable or strange. How did you proceed? If you had the chance, what would you do the same, and what would you do differently?”
d) A brief statement of purpose (no more than 250 words), in English, describing why writing is important to the applicant’s life, and what he/she hopes to learn at BTL
PART II
o Full name (as it appears on your passport)
o City and country of birth (as it appears on your passport)
o Gender
o City of residency
o Country of residency
o Country of citizenship
o Date of birth
o Email address
o School name
o School grade level
o Mobile number
o Previous Travel (including U.S.)
o Other summer camps or exchange programs you participated in
o Awards and Honors
Please email all complete application to: USAinJoExchanges@state.gov no later than March 2, 2022.
