In return to Iowa City, author Irving says he's still writing — and admits to fighting for teacher Vonnegut in local bar
IOWA CITY
(Note: The full story appears in the Iowa City Press-Citizen. The editor of the paper, Brandon Hurley, worked with me in Carroll and Jefferson and was kind enough to credential me to cover Irving for the Iowa City Press-Citizen.)
Read the full story as it appears in the Iowa City Press-Citizen, where you may or may not run into a paywall, but here are some excerpts:
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One of the defining voices in American literature, John Irving, recalled his deep Iowa City ties Friday night, Oct. 13, in a wide-ranging talk that delighted a sold-out Hancher Auditorium audience as he weaved from memories of a legendary long-ago bar fight to the author's reading of selections from a still-in-the-works forthcoming novel — his 16th.
The National Book Award winner who broke onto the American letters scene more than a half century ago went heavily local in the Hancher conversation with stories about living at three places in Iowa City — including the current home of the director of the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, Lan Samantha Chang, who interviewed Irving on stage before 800 people. Irving now lives in Toronto.
He’s still writing ….
Irving said the working title of his next book is "Honor's Child." 'Honor' is the name of a character in the book.
"Honor's child is not her's," Irving said. "She is the mother of the child, the only mother the child knows and loves. But she did not give birth to the child. That's of more importance later in the novel than it is when you begin."
Irving said "Honor's Child" is the first of his novels in which he has gone back to fictional characters in previous works, giving them appearances in a second of his books.
A political comment …
The most political question of the evening came from an audience member who asked Irving if, as a former wrestler and someone who cares about America, he had any thoughts on U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a conservative firebrand at the center of turmoil in the speaker-less House — and a potential Speaker of the House himself.
Jordan was a two-time NCAA wrestling champion at the University of Wisconsin. Irving was a high school and college wrestler and coach — and is in the National Wrestling Hall Of Fame.
"Because I am partial to Big 10 wrestling I remember being happy for Jim Jordan when he won those NCAA titles for Wisconsin. I don't believe I have wished him well since," Irving said.
The line drew some of the most sustained applause of the evening for Irving.
Douglas Burns, a fourth-generation Iowa journalist, is a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. He lives in Carroll, Iowa, where his family operated the Carroll Time Herald for 93 years.
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