In 2008, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) selected Iowa City Iowa as a City Of Literature. That may not sound like such a big deal…but consider this. Iowa City joined Edinburgh, Scotland and Melbourne, Australia to become only the third city in the world to receive that honor.
Many famous authors have attended The University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop…and many more have applied but have not been accepted to this prestigious program. And Prairie Lights Bookstore has hosted more famous authors and book signings than I can count.
Iowa City takes the written word very seriously. In fact, you only need to drive around our city to begin to understand how serious we are. I took a short drive this morning to photograph a few of our MANY “lending libraries” that have sprung up over the past few years. These little “houses” are located in many front yards around town. You simply help yourself to a book, and bring one back to share with someone else. It’s really amazing. No vandalism, no thefts…just sharing books with others who share a passion for reading.
So if you love books…Come to Iowa City. I’m sure you’ll find something you’ll like!
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