Christopher Merrill

Iowa Public Radio's Ben Kieffer interviews a few writers of this year's residency who attended a welcome party in Iowa City. He also talks to Christopher, U.S. Congressman Dave Loebsack, and interim UI President Jean Robillard about literature as a tool for cultural understanding--as opposed to politics.

Miriam Kotzin of Per Contra reviews Flash Fiction International: Very Short Stories from Around the World, a curated collection of 86 stories "accompanied by not only an expected introduction and contributor's notes, but also a selection of comments on flash theory by a number of well-known authors." Find out more about the contributors and Kotzin's great thoughts on the book here. 

An interview with Christopher, in Ukrainian. Read it here. 

Christopher and current U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey read their own work and discuss "the relationship between poetry and historical memory" at an event hosted by NYU-Abu Dhabi. Watch it here.

The Colorado Review has published a generous and thoughtful review of Flash Fiction International, Very Short Stories from Around the World, an anthology of flash fiction edited by Christopher. Read it here. 

In which Christopher speaks about Joseph Brodsky, the humanities, and more at the 9th Krasnoyarsk Book Fair in Siberia. He also talks about his role on the National Council on the Humanities saying, "[m]y role on the council is to review grants and advise the chairman. I get to look at the incredibly broad range of intellectual work being done by people in the humanities—work that invites to wake up, to hope that forces for good will prevail over evil." Read the full interview here. 

In which Christopher talks to the marvelous Pakistani poet Harris Khalique about "literary traditions in Pakistan, the cultural influences of different cities, and the important role of women in Pakistani literature." Listen to the full talk here on Poetry Foundation. 

Christopher Merrill and Charles Connerly have been awarded for their significant contributions to the University of Iowa during the Faculty and Staff Awards Banquet Oct. 6 at the Levitt Center for University Advancement. Find out the details of the award here. 

A generous, and thoughtful, review of Flash Fiction International by Pedro Ponce. Read it here. 

In an another edition of River to River, host Ben Kieffer talks with Yashar Vasef and Niloufar Talebi, as well as Christopher about the Iran nuclear deal.