FOR NONFICTION A square plot sits at the southeast corner of North Clinton and Church Streets. Facing the President’s House, the land acts as a pedestrian walkway for those walking to and from campus. By this time next year, that plot of land will be transformed into a home for the Nonfiction Writing Program (NWP) in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. President Barbara Wilson will soon have new literary neighbors across the street.
Amid what is sometimes referred to as the “Writing Corridor,” the new NWP house will fit along Clinton Street, joining the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in the Dey House and the International Writing Program in the Shambaugh House. The metal- and slate-clad building will include eight offices for Nonfiction Writing Program faculty, workspaces for graduate teaching assistants, three seminar classrooms and an open library/ lounge space, which will open to an outdoor patio. Contractors will begin construction in mid-March, with expected completion by the end of 2022. This showcase house is being designed by Neumann Monson Architects and built by McComas-Lacina Construction. The 3,500 square foot house will be two stories tall and is designed to fit in with the architecture of the surrounding buildings, including the Obermann Center to the east, Delta Delta Delta house to the south, Dey House to the west and the President’s House to the north. Construction costs of the new building are being covered by fundraising efforts, led by the University of Iowa Center for Advancement and aided by the vision of John D’Agata, Professor of English, who served previously as NWP director and is a faculty member in NWP. Consistently ranked as a top MFA program, the NWP is a three-year graduate program in the Department of English that explores new approaches to creative nonfiction, while also developing an appreciation for the deep history of the genre. Its synergies with the Writers’ Workshop and the International Writing Program make it the perfect new neighbor on North Clinton Street.
Eugene Buck CLAS Director of Facilities
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