Care to share a tower with Rapunzel?

The city of Seattle is seeking a writer for a unique residency: in one of the towers of its Fremont Bridge, which crosses the Lake Washington Ship Canal.

The selected writer – who could be a poet, fiction or “creative non-fiction” author – will receive $10,000 (£7,000) to work in the space for three months, and is expected to “undertake an in-depth exploration of the bridge” and write a literary response to the experience, to coincide with the 100th birthday of the structure in 2017.

The residency will occupy the northwestern tower of the bridge, a room measuring 13ft by 8ft, with a 10ft ceiling and a stairway coming up through the space. It’s furnished with a desk, chair, overhead lights, windows and an air-conditioning unit. Given that the space has no toilet, kitchen or running water, it’s a mercy that the residency is not a live-in appointment. The chosen writer will be able to use the facility as a “studio, a platform for observing the bridge and its surroundings, or as a base from which to interact with the community”...