GUYANESE writer and Cultural Policy Advisor at the Ministry of Education, Ruel Johnson, has been selected to participate in the International Writing Programme (IWP) Fall Residency sponsored by the United States Department of State.Amanda Cauldwell, Public Affairs Officer, congratulated Mr Johnson for his selection into the prestigious programme, a release from the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown stated. Johnson, a cultural policy advocate, accomplished writer of fiction and poetry, journalist, publisher and political analyst is the first Guyanese to participate in the IWP.
In expressing his appreciation for the opportunity, Mr Johnson noted that he intends to apply the insights gained from the programme to magnify Guyana’s cultural position on the world stage. Johnson noted Guyana’s rich, unique confluence of African, Indian, Chinese, Indigenous and European cultures, the release added.
The IWP brings together foreign literary figures from every continent to the University of Iowa for the largest multicultural writing residency in the world. During the 10-week residency, approximately 35 writers will have the opportunity to share their literary cultures with others, read, write, translate, study and become part of the vibrant literary and academic community at the University of Iowa. Since 1967, over 1,400 writers from more than 140 nations have taken part in the Fall Residency.