A Special Message from Henry Reese

Dear friends:

On Friday, August 12, 2022 my world changed, forever.  As did that of Salman Rushdie, in a much more profound way.  He has suffered permanent loss of sight in one eye, use of one hand, and almost 20 wounds, many severe.  Until recently his very survival was uncertain. 

In The New York Times I wrote about the “reader effect” and how the audience’s rush to the stage helped save Salman Rushdie’s life.  But I have never written about the hundreds of e-mails I received from friends made through City of Asylum…. e-mails that poured in within minutes and continued for days.

These emails bolstered my spirits at a very difficult time.  And many conversations at Alphabet City continue to provide helpful support.  I cannot thank all of you personally for what this has meant to me, but please know that your reaching out has meant a lot. And that I am well.

In addition to expressing concern for me, many messages also included short notes about what City of Asylum has meant personally to the sender…. how the attack was a grim reminder of how important and how necessary our mission is.

If here in the U.S., at a place like Chautauqua, Salman Rushdie could almost be assassinated…. what must it be like for writers—every day—in Bangladesh or Iran or Cuba or China or the other countries whose writers have found sanctuary on Sampsonia Way? 

What may have seemed like a rhetorical question on August 11 become real on August 12:  What we do in Pittsburgh to protect writers is a matter of life or death.

Salman Rushdie was the originator of the idea for City of Asylum and the leader in    getting the movement started.  70 cities now exist around the world in what has become the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN).

The reason I was on stage with Salman at Chautauqua was to talk with him about Pittsburgh’s success in taking his original idea and creating a “model for the world” …. a model not only for the protection for writers, but also a realization of his utopian vision…a vision, ultimately, of community-building.  “No one can be free in isolation. The only free person is the one who lives with other people…in what we call ‘community’ and the warmth that goes with it.”

It didn’t happen overnight.  We began in 2004 and we have evolved and grown gradually, as communities do. 

Before year-end we expect to have 7 exiled writers-in-residence in City of Asylum. More than 10% of all writers in ICORN will live in Pittsburgh!  Within just 500 feet of one another… more exiled writers will be neighbors on Sampsonia Way than in all the ICORN cities of England, France, and Germany combined.

Salman Rushdie first visited City of Asylum in 2005.  Then, there was just one writer and one house: Huang Xiang and his House Poem.  For Chautauqua I had prepared slides to take the audience along the path of our growth, the growth that Salman had witnessed—pictures of the “house publications,” the Alphabet Reading Garden, River of Words, and some of the free readings and concerts in Alphabet City.  

I had hoped the audience would see City of Asylum as Salman Rushdie has seen it… how the writer sanctuary, as it grew, changed us in Pittsburgh along with the lives of the writers we protect.

I never got to show the slides. But in those many emails, notes, and conversations since August 12, I have personally experienced how community is a great strength and support, support I never expected to need but was there when I needed it.

With more appreciation than ever…. for what our mission means and what we have been able to accomplish together…I ask your help during our annual year-end fundraising drive. It truly makes a difference.  Thank you.

Sincerely,

Henry Reese
Co-founder

Salman Rushdie inspired Henry and Diane to start City of Asylum. Your support helped them build a community-based organization that is celebrated around the world. And it was the community of City of Asylum that inspired me to change careers and become Executive Director in 2020.

Your support has also helped me to continue building on what Henry and Diane began…to grow and evolve City of Asylum as a vital, living organization.

Our annual campaign, which we are launching now, is the cornerstone on which all else depends. The funds we raise during this campaign are needed to support our plans for City of Asylum in the coming year.

Please help us continue our work in 2023 by making a donation to City of Asylum today.

Sincerely,

Andrés Franco 
Executive Director