Des Moines Objectivist Group

After a hugely successful run in the Netherlands and other European locals, the play based on "The Fountainhead" is opening in the USA later this month. How is your Dutch?

The Fountainhead Ivo van Hove updates Ayn Rand’s notorious paean to radical individualism.

Sounds like it could have come right out of Atlas Shrugged:

DNAinfo and Gothamist Are Shut Down After Vote to Unionize Reporters and editors at the local news sites joined a union last week. On Thursday, their billionaire owner closed the sites.

Listening to an older episode of Iowa Public Radio's River to River today. The episode was an interview with some of the current resident writers at the well-known writing program at University of Iowa.

One writer is Rochelle Potkar, a writer and poet from Mumbai. When the host asked her what she thought of Iowa, Potkar said:

"I was just telling a friend that if John Galt had been a writer, this is the world he'd have created. Because this, for me, this is like utopia. Because at home in Bombay, I live like the other writers in the world who are not in residencies. You work in your house near a beautiful window and that's all you have. And then you go across the city via train or congested road to a poetry reading, far away. And you come back and that's a day.

"And here there's everything -- almost under one dome. Whether it's cinematheque or whether it's a book store, everything is at hand. I don't think you need to go anywhere else. In fact, I worry that I might not want to go, you know?"

Literature: Better Than Politics at Fostering Cultural Understanding
* Duration: 45:00, Played: 35:16
* Episode Download Link (21 MB):
http://cpa.ds.npr.org/ipr/audio/2015/08/rtr150827.mp3?origin=body
* Show Notes:
http://iowapublicradio.org/post/literature-better-politics-fostering-cultural-understanding

Was she referencing *the* John Galt? I Googled and found out. Yes, *the* John Galt. When asked in another interview what she thinks of movies being made out of books, she said she enjoyed The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.

Interview with Rochelle Potkar
http://guptakaushal.blogspot.com/2015/09/interview-with-rochelle-potkar.html

While I was searching I also happened to find another Indian woman writer who said Ayn Rand was one of her favorite authors, "for her innovative thoughts and conviction".

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: USHA NARAYANAN
https://metroreader.wordpress.com/author/metroreader/

Literature: Better Than Politics at Fostering Cultural Understanding Since 1967, over 1,400 writers from more than 140 countries have taken part in the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program, often referred to as

All An Ayn Rand Hero Really Wants Is Love Sure, Ayn Rand glorified plutocrats and looked down on poor people—if you're reading a completely different book.

If you are interested in learning more about Ayn Rand and her ideas, free copies of selected fiction and nonfiction are available exclusively for students. Simply create a brief public profile with your name and school and indicate which book you would like to read. From there, the site will try to pair you with a generous donor who will fulfill your book request.

http://www.aynrand.org/educational-resources/high-school-resources