Singaporean Writers Lament US$1 Million Federal Cuts

Without the University of Iowa's International Writing Program (IWP), International Booker Prize-longlisted Singaporean translator Jeremy Tiang might never have met Chinese author Zhang Yueran—one of the first writers he translated.

- Shawn Hoo

On March 6, the university announced that the United States Department of State had halted its federal funding, which totals nearly US$1 million (S$1.3 million), for its programmes.

Its flagship programme, which has brought in writers from over 160 countries for an 11-week residency, has hosted over 1,600 writers—including 36 Singaporean writers—since its inception in 1967.

"This is devastating news," Tiang tells The Straits Times.

The 2025 cohort will be cut by half from the usual 30 writers.

Tiang, who participated in 2011 with a grant from Singapore's National Arts Council (NAC), adds: "There really is no other programme that allows writers from across the globe to interact in such a meaningful way."

According to a March 6 press statement by the university, the grants through the US' Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs were being terminated as the awards "no longer effectuate agency priorities" nor align "with agency priorities and national interests".