He knew he wouldn’t have any peace in his life if he didn’t make a serious effort to become a writer. Originally set on the path to a law career, Ben Fountain left the world of real-estate litigation...

Imagine a place where everything is a shade of gray — literally. This idea represents only half of the world that playwright Tony Meneses imagined in his work The Boy in Black. In the musical, single...

Booker T. Jones knows how to take the church marm out of the organ and put in the funk. Nearly half a century after his first hit, “Green Onions” with his band Booker T. and the MGs, Jones creates...

Alan Bradley couldn’t have imagined a character like Flavia de Luce. The precocious 11-year-old was first realized in another book he was writing. Flavia “demanded a book of her own, and [he] finally...

The only other time the Cave Singers stopped in Iowa City, it wasn’t for a music festival. It wasn’t to play music. It wasn’t even to see a concert. The band members were just hungry. “Yeah, we...

César Chávez ranks with Martin Luther King Jr. in his efforts to secure agricultural laborers’ rights. His pacifist leadership achieved wage increases for farm workers and better field-sanitation,...

Andre Perry and Tanner Illingworth met on MySpace. Impressed by what he saw on Illingworth’s page, Perry sent him a message showing interest in his musical abilities. When Perry moved to Iowa City in...

With more than 50 counts of treason against him and five attempts on his life, Zimbabwean farmer Philemon Matibe began writing. What was first a journal of experiential record for the political refugee...

Gabe’s is back … sort of. Steve Federspiel purchased the business for $120,000 after the Picador closed its doors due to management issues late in February. Soon, an idea emerged to name the venue...

Clad in leisure suits, zebra-print spandex, and robot costumes, the Flavor Savers members never forget aviator sunglasses or questionably real mustaches in preparation for a show full of pelvic-thrusting...

For Stephanie Elizondo Griest, travel writing has always been the job of her dreams — literally. The author, who is a first-year student in the Nonfiction Writing Program, said she has several relatives...

Lin Foulk and Deanna Swoboda are rare breeds — and not just because they perform in a male-dominated musical field. “This pair is unique because it’s the only tuba and [French] horn duet around,”...