Gay bar iowa city

Iowa City: All of our creativity went into the name!

Iowa City is celebrated as a hub for famous writers like Kurt Vonnegut, Raymond Carver, and Flannery O’Connor – though when I moved here as a fresh-faced 18-year-old, I mistakenly consideration that the University of Iowa’s Writer’s Workshop was actually for undergrads instead of a graduate program. Despite my initial mistake, it became clear to me that the love of writing pervades every brick and cobblestone of Iowa City, and its designation as a UNESCO Capital of Literature remains an irresistible pull for poets, essayists, and authors of every variety.

To be perfectly honest, my first three years of school in Iowa City displeased me. Compared to my hometown, Austin, the whole town seemed claustrophobic and uncultured. Since graduating and moving beyond the prescribed borders of campus, though, my opinion has changed. Iowa City’s often overlooked elements include its vibrant DIY arts and music scenes, a thriving bike customs, and activism that does not limit its scope to the white middle-class.

The negative aspects of campus life and my first run-in with Midwestern weather – i.e. somewhere that actually has snow in the