City of Asylum

Last updated
City of Asylum
Formation2004
FoundersR. Henry Reese, Diane Samuels
TypeNon-profit
PurposeTo provide sanctuary to endangered literary writers.
Headquarters40 W. North Ave
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 40°27′20″N80°00′27″W / 40.45562°N 80.007519°W / 40.45562; -80.007519
Executive Director
Andrés Franco
Budget
$1,100,000
Staff
14
Website cityofasylum.org

City of Asylum (more formally City of Asylum/Pittsburgh) is a nonprofit organization based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that helps writers exiled from their countries for their controversial writing. [1]

Contents

Exiled writers accepted to the organization's program receive two years of financial and medical support for their families and up to four years of free housing. The aid is intended to provide the writers time and means to seek resettlement and adjust to life in the United States. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Founded in 2004 by Henry Reese and Diane Samuels, [6] the organization runs the Alphabet City venue, Sampsonia Way magazine, and Pittsburgh's Jazz Poetry Month. City of Asylum hosts more than 175 cultural and literary events every year which are free to the public. [7]

In 2016, it became the U.S. headquarters for the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN), which called the organization a “model for the world.” [8] In 2017, the organization converted an old Masonic lodge into their main headquarters, called Alphabet City. [9]

History

Origin and establishment

Henry Reese and Diane Samuels, founders of City of Asylum Henry Reese and Diane Samuels.jpg
Henry Reese and Diane Samuels, founders of City of Asylum

After Pittsburgh couple Henry Reese and Diane Samuels heard Salman Rushdie mention the more-than-50-city International Cities of Refuge Networking in Europe, they sought and received approval to create a new node in their own city. [10] [3] [11] The couple bought a former crack house on Sampsonia Way in Pittsburgh's North Side. [12] They joined the nearby Mattress Factory and Randyland to fight post-industrial blight in the Mexican War Streets area. [13]

The organization was originally funded by donations from friends, an outlier among asylum programs which are typically under universities and other institutions. [10] The original money raised was spent to provide housing, medical benefits, and a living stipend for a writer. [14]

The organization’s first author resident was Huang Xiang, a Chinese poet who had been sentenced to death in China for his participation in the Democracy Wall Movement. [12] [15] He and his wife Zhang Ling were granted asylum in the United States through City of Asylum. [16]

On August 12, 2022, Reese was preparing to interview Rushdie on stage in New York when an attacker stabbed the author. During the attack, Reese received facial lacerations and a black eye. [17] He later said, "Don’t be intimidated, if anything you should be re-energized by what we have just been through...You can't give into being silenced." [18]

Writers in Residence

At least 10 writers-in-exile have stayed for more than a year in City of Asylum apartments, while another 20 international artist-in-residence writers have stayed one to three months. [9]

YearsWriterCountry
2004-2006 Huang Xiang China
2006-2011 Horacio Castellanos Moya El Salvador
2006-2009 Khet Mar Burma
2011-2018 Israel Centeno Venezuela
2013-2015 Yaghoub Yadali Iran
2016–present Tuhin Das Bangladesh
2017-2019 Osama Alomar Syria
2019-2021 Bewketu Seyoum Ethiopia
2021–present Jorge Olivera Castillo Cuba
2022–present Anouar Rahmani Algeria

Mural Houses

City of Asylum's houses provides residences to writers in exile. City of Asylum Mural Houses.jpg
City of Asylum's houses provides residences to writers in exile.

Huang Xuang wanted to carve a poem into a mountain, but took Samuels' suggestion that he paint the poems on his house. The building became known as House Poem, and people have slipped their own poems into the mail slot. [10] [19] Other writers followed suit; as of 2021, five City of Asylum houses on Sampsonia Way have murals.

YearNameArtistAddress
2004House Poem Huang Xiang 408 Sampsonia Way
2006Winged House Thaddeus Mosley 402 Sampsonia Way
2009Pittsburgh-Burma HouseThan Htay Muang324 Sampsonia Way
2010Jazz HouseOliver Lake320 Sampsonia Way
2021Comma House Tuhin Das 308 Sampsonia Way

Projects

Alphabet City

In 2015, City of Asylum acquired a former Masonic Hall from the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh and launched a $12.2 million renovation. [8] The project received $8 million in tax credits and additional funding from local foundations. [9] Dubbed Alphabet City, the building now houses administrative offices, the City of Asylum bookstore, and a restaurant. All events held at the space are free. [20]

City of Asylum Books, a separate entity from the non-profit organization, specializes in international and translated literature. [21]

The first restaurant to open in the renovated Alphabet City was Casellula, a cheese and wine cafe with a strict no-tipping policy. [22] The restaurant closed in late 2017, weeks after staff aired grievances on "Tipped Off", a restaurant industry blog. [23] From 2018 to 2020, the restaurant space housed Brugge on North, a branch of Pittsburgh restaurants Point Brugge and Park Brugge. [24] [25] The current restaurant is called 40 North. [26]

Jazz Poetry Month

Jazz Poetry was the first event put on by City of Asylum in 2005. It was a collaboration between Huang Xiang and jazz musician Oliver Lake. City of Asylum continued to host Jazz Poetry annually. In 2016, the format changed from a single concert to a full month of concerts. [27]

River of Words

River of Words is a public art installation by exiled Venezuelan writer and artist resident Israel Centeno. [28] The installation involved a choice of 100 words, all relevant to Pittsburgh, of which Mexican War Street neighbors were invited to display on the wall, door, or window of their houses. [10] [29] The representation of the words were designed by Venezuelan artists Carolina Arnal and Gisela Romero. [30]

Sampsonia Way magazine

The City of Asylum publishes a magazine called Sampsonia Way which has publishes English translations of exiled writers. The publication's goal is to fight censorship and celebrate free expression in literature. [10]

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References

  1. 1 2 Pressimone, Salina (November 30, 2017). "An Asylum for Artists: Students intern at a Sanctuary for Exiled Writers". Pitt News. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  2. ↑ Gentile, Carmen (August 10, 2014). "In Pittsburgh, a refuge for endangered writers". Al Jazeera. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Conway, Brian (February 13, 2017). "City of Asylum @ Alphabet City opens its doors to the community". NEXTPittsburgh. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  4. ↑ Zhao, Kathy (January 5, 2015). "City of Asylum writers take refuge in Pittsburgh". Pitt News. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  5. ↑ Volk, David. "City of Asylum: Helping persecuted artists in Pittsburgh". Columns Magazine. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  6. ↑ Studebaker, Bob (July 16, 2017). "StoryCorps Pittsburgh: Henry Reese And Diane Samuels". WESA. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  7. ↑ Pitz, Marylynne (February 27, 2019). "Broadcasting executive chosen to lead City of Asylum". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 25, 2019. The North Side nonprofit houses exiled writers and presents more than 175 free cultural and literary events each year
  8. 1 2 O'Driscoll, Bill (May 11, 2016). "City of Asylum/Pittsburgh Restaurant, Bookstore, Event Space Set for September". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved March 25, 2019. called City of Asylum/Pittsburgh "the model for the world."
  9. 1 2 3 Kirkland, Kevin (February 27, 2017). "Alphabet City bookstore: Newly opened bookstore provides an asylum for works of writers in exile". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Fallows, Deborah (October 31, 2014). "Pittsburgh's City of Asylum". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  11. ↑ Studbaker, Bob (June 27, 2013). "City of Asylum Pittsburgh Firmly Rooted in Its North Side Neighborhood". WESA. Retrieved March 25, 2019. Inspired by the bestselling novelist Salman Rushdie
  12. 1 2 Packer, George (December 7, 2009). "A Safe Street in Pittsburgh". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  13. ↑ Peterson, Lucas (April 12, 2017). "Built on Steel, Pittsburgh Now Thrives on Culture". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  14. ↑ Fallows, Deborah (March 21, 2016). "Language as Art in Pittsburgh". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  15. ↑ Semuels, Alana (November 16, 2004). "The right to write: City gives safe harbor to exiled Chinese poet and his work". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Ralph Henry Reese: Giving Exiled Writers Security and Freedom". VOA News. February 1, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  17. ↑ Ingram, Sheldon (15 August 2022). "City of Asylum Pittsburgh co-founder responds to violent attacks". WTAE-TV . Retrieved 22 August 2022. You can't give in to being silenced.
  18. ↑ Pilkington, Ed (14 August 2022). "Moderator describes 'tragic irony' and 'horror' as violence on Rushdie unfolded". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  19. ↑ Spiegel, Brendan (July 15, 2015). "36 Hours in Pittsburgh". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  20. ↑ Young, Virginia (September 9, 2016). "City Of Asylum Prepares To Launch Alphabet City And Expand Programming". WESA. Retrieved March 25, 2019. All events are free
  21. ↑ Behe, Rege (August 15, 2018). "Pittsburghers buying into City of Asylum Books". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  22. ↑ Roberts, Celine (February 15, 2017). "NYC's Casellula Opens on the North Side". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  23. ↑ McCart, Melissa (December 16, 2017). "Casellula in the North Side to close in late December". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  24. ↑ McCart, Melissa (April 15, 2018). "The new restaurant in the North Side's City of Asylum opens this week". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  25. ↑ Federoff, Stacey (February 23, 2018). "Point Brugge Cafe, Park Bruges owners to open third restaurant". Pittsburgh Business Times. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  26. ↑ "Restaurant Review: 40 North At Alphabet City". Pittsburgh Magazine. 2021-10-14. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  27. ↑ "Jazz Poetry Moves to May on the North Side, plus more jazz happenings on the Scene". WZUM Jazz Pittsburgh. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  28. ↑ "River of Words connects communities and brains". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. July 18, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  29. ↑ Baron, Jennifer (July 21, 2014). "River of Words public art launch". NEXTPittsburgh. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  30. ↑ Lizarondo, Leah (July 22, 2014). "A River of Words Engulfs the Northside". NEXTPittsburgh. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
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