Case, a Grammy-nominated singer, was in conversation about her recent memoir The Harder I Fight The More I Love You with best-selling author Melissa Febos, a Professor at UI’s Creative Nonfiction Program.
Eastern Iowa
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Rap mafioso Raekwon proves Wu-Tang is still for the children at Mission Creek Festival
Legendary Wu-Tang emcee Raekwon rocked a multigenerational crowd at the Englert during the final night of Mission Creek Festival 2025, where he performed his classic 1995 solo debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… The Englert is no stranger to members of the Wu gracing its stage, having welcomed fellow clansmen GZA last year (and in 2009’s […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City rallies for immigrants, federal workers, the VA, health benefits, science and LGBTQ rights at Hands Off! protest of Trump administration
People in more than 1,300 cities across the country rallied on Saturday for Hands Off! protests against the sudden, brutal actions of the Trump administration. In Iowa, there were rallies in 17 cities, stretching from Red Oak to Davenport. In Cerro Gordo County, which Trump carried by 12 percentage points in November, more than 250 […]
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UI grad Torrey Peters reads from new book ‘Stag Dance,’ discusses writing for a trans audience at Prairie Lights
On Saturday, April 5, Peters stood in front of a packed room at Prairie Lights Book Store and read excerpts from her Stag Dance. One of the many literary guests at the Mission Creek Festival, Peters spoke with UI’s Creative Nonfiction grad student Jenny Singer about the genesis of her book, what’s she’s learned about self-publishing and how it has helped her career as a novelist.
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Cuts undermine pool usage in Iowa City
By Anne Stapleton, Iowa City As I swam in the pool at the Robert A. Lee Community Recreation Center (RAL) in March, an unexpected snowfall provided a stunning sight, framed by south-facing windows. Enjoying the view, pool users greeted each other cheerfully, engaged in healthy exercise. Unfortunately, a pattern of administrative cuts begun in 2022 […]
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Review: Mission Creek’s Lit Walk is a sensory, choose-your-own adventure experience
While an author reads, she cannot know that three people are filming her: husband, daughter and granddaughter. It’s a moment to remember. That was the level of intimacy felt on Friday, April 4 during Mission Creek Festival’s Lit Walk. As much a part of the mythos of the Festival as the long list of past music headliners, the Lit Walk, as the MCF website states, gives festival-goers an opportunity to “…hear an unexpected variety of work from a mix of talented local and out-of-town writers.”
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: From rapt silence to cathartic screams, Mission Creek’s Day 2 performers crowd-surfed the line between rage and joy
Night two of Mission Creek, in contrast with the first night’s containment at Hancher, encompassed many venues around the downtown area, a return to previous years’ mad dash of “Creekers” around Iowa City looking for the show that will change their lives, whether that be a new-to-you music act or a local literary hero at the […]
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Author Rachel Kushner describes writing ‘an ideas novel that’s not boring’ in conversation with Kim Gordon
The American woman watches people standing in line and waiting to pay at the cash register. It’s a highway travel center in France and the woman observes customers walk in and out. She’s at the same time bored and fascinated. People buy dried truffles or lavender oil or glass jars of something resembling cat food. […]
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Review: Mission Creek 2025 kicks off with the glorious Kim Gordon, Rachel Kushner and LA LOM
Opening night of Mission Creek! At Hancher! My last Mission Creek was 2019, officially the Before Times of Iowa City public culture. Venues have closed, or been torn down. Hancher was buzzing with people with their lanyards and wristbands, anticipating a deep dive into live music and culture. There is a Mission Creek feeling, shared […]
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Review: The Acting Company stages August Wilson’s ‘Two Trains Running’ — set in a 1969 diner — with cinematic precision
The Acting Company’s recent production of August Wilson’s Two Trains Running, presented by Hancher Auditorium in collaboration with Riverside and the Englert Theatre and performed on the latter’s stage March 28 and 29, is a solid and heartfelt rendition of one of Wilson’s most meditative plays.
Posted inCommunity/News
‘I can’t get a passport in this country right now’: Iowa City marks Transgender Day of Visibility in the shadow of anti-trans state, national laws
Approximately 100 people gathered at College Green Park in Iowa City on Tuesday for a rally to mark this year’s International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV). “Visibility is power. Visibility is defiance,” Mandi Remington, founder and director of Corridor Community Action Network (CCAN) and a member of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, told the […]
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Review: ‘The Great Gatsby’ is a haunted memory in Mirrorbox Theatre’s ‘These Gilded Souls’
These Gilded Souls, the Great Gatsby adaptation/continuation by playwright Aly Kantor, is currently playing at Mirrorbox Theatre in Cedar Rapids, starring Seth Hoffman as Nick Carraway. Nick has returned to West Egg to scatter the ashes of the wife whom he married and lost in the years following the events of the novel.
