The University of Iowa International Writing Program (IWP) will extend its successful "New Symposium," which met for three years on the island of Paros in Greece, with "Writing In and Beyond the City," a gathering of writers and artists in Fez and Casablanca, Morocco, from April 28 through May 5.

The event will take place in the form of a "Souk Ukaz" -- an Arab tradition of intellectual and artistic exchange. In huge gatherings, traders from different tribes meet to sell and buy products, but the events are also social and cultural extravaganzas where poets compete. The Souk Ukaz (Ukaz market), situated on the spice route in Arabia, is the most famous of these gatherings, where the winning poet is rewarded with a gold inscription of the poem hung on the walls of al-Kaaba in Mecca.

Preparing for the gathering in their home countries, through shared readings and drafting of essays, the "New Sympoisum" group will spend five days in Morocco, discussing the individual presentations, visiting the surrounding cityscapes, meeting with local writers and artists, and staging public readings.