A Look Back at 2022 from Executive Director Andrés Franco
Dear friend,
Nothing had prepared me—a foreign born artist—emotionally for the experience of being in charge of the world’s largest sanctuary for exiled writers, at a time when our freedoms are under attack. The August 12 attempt on Salman Rushdie’s life shook all of us at City of Asylum to the core. It also made us more resolute in our commitment to protecting freedom of creative expression.
Salman has been the global standard bearer for freedom of expression since 1989, when he was forced into hiding after a fatwa was issued ordering his killing. He was the originator of the idea for City of Asylum and the leader in getting the movement started, in response to a growing incidence of writer assassinations in Algeria. And one of his talks here in Pittsburgh inspired our co-founders Diane Samuels and Henry Reese to start City of Asylum Pittsburgh.
Three decades later, writers and their ideas are still under attack, in Algeria, around the world, and even on U.S. soil. And the need for organizations like City of Asylum is greater than ever before.
For me, 2022 started with a trip to Pittsburgh International Airport, to welcome an exiled writer to City of Asylum—Algerian writer Anouar Rahmani. We had spoken several times on Zoom and over the phone before his arrival in Pittsburgh. But meeting him in person brought home to me just how important City of Asylum’s mission is, what it means for a persecuted writer to have a safe place.
Anouar Rahmani is a writer and human rights defender: he advocates for individual freedoms, environmental rights, and the rights of religious minorities and the LGBTQIA+ community. Because of his writings and activism, he has been censored, persecuted, and harassed in Algeria. Just a few days before coming to Pittsburgh, Anouar was accused of insulting God and the president of Algeria and was summoned to appear in court, jeopardizing his ability to leave the country. Thankfully, he was released, but it was clear the harassment would continue had he stayed.
Bangladeshi writer Tuhin Das arrived in Pittsburgh in 2016, after 5 months in hiding because of death threats from Al Qaeda. City of Asylum commissioned a translation of Tuhin Das’ Exile Poems. The book was published in April by Bridge and Tunnel Books and has been very well received locally, nationally, and internationally. Chris Gribble, the Chair of the Board of Directors of ICORN, called the collection “deeply moving and vital.”
2022 was the first year at City of Asylum for Jorge Olivera Castillo and his wife Nancy Alfaya Hernandez. Jorge just completed a book of sonnets, written here in Pittsburgh. He is also planning to write a new collection of stories based on his harrowing experience as a soldier in the Angolan War. And as if this was not enough, Jorge and Nancy’s application for permanent residency in the U.S. was approved a few weeks ago.
Our writer sanctuary, already the largest in the world, will continue growing. In October, we announced a new Fellowship for Ukrainian writers displaced by war. Three Ukrainian writers are coming to Pittsburgh so they can continue writing and publishing, despite the ongoing conflict. The writers will start arriving in Pittsburgh in early 2023.
Throughout the year, we continued working non-stop to bring global, historically marginalized, and experimental writers and artists to Pittsburgh. In May, we presented Jazz Poetry Month 2022, which saw the return of long-time City of Asylum friend Oliver Lake, who came to Pittsburgh for a special appearance. And in honor of “Oliver Lake Day,” City of Asylum published If I Knew This & More, an updated and expanded book of Oliver’s poetry.
New artists were introduced during Jazz Poetry Month. One of my favorite programs was the concert by Ukrainian pianist Vadim Neselovskyi, performing his concept album Odesa: A Musical Walk through a Legendary City. The album, which received its U.S. premiere on our stage, shot to the top of the New York Times list and has received national and international acclaim. Vadim’s concert was also the first of several programs featuring Ukrainian artists during Jazz Poetry Month. And we will continue presenting Ukrainian writers, musicians, and poets in 2023 in an effort to uplift Ukrainian language and culture.
In September, the second Pittsburgh International Literary Festival (LitFest ’22) brought Neustadt Prize winning author Dubravka Ugrešić (Croatia), New York Times best-selling author and audience favorite Gary Shteyngart (Russia), and Women’s Prize nominee Angie Cruz (Dominican Republic) to Alphabet City’s stage.
LitFest ’22 opened with a program celebrating Salman Rushdie featuring Kiran Desai, Amitava Kumar, and Suketu Mehta. The three Indian writers are friends of Salman’s and credit him as a major influence in their careers. They talked about their favorite works by Rushdie and shared anecdotes with the audience. A program with any one of these authors would have been an evening to remember. . Having all three together was a once in a lifetime opportunity!
An audience favorite was the program featuring three exiled writers in residence from the Cities of Asylum in Detroit, Ithaca, and Pittsburgh: Dmitri Bykov (Russia), Pedro Molina (Nicaragua), and Anouar Rahmani (Algeria). This is the first time we have had this kind of collaboration with other U.S. cities in the network, and based on the positive experience, we plan to continue strengthening our relationship.
October brought several high-profile programs to Alphabet City: on October 15, Mark Rylance presented an unforgettable reading of poems by three of our current writers-in-residence: Jorge Olivera Castillo, Anouar Rahmani, and RaMa. During his time in Pittsburgh, Mark took a tour of the “House Publications” on Sampsonia Way. He expressed his admiration for the work we do here in Pittsburgh, and is looking forward to coming back.
Our annual Freedom to Create Gala and Keynote honored Nobel Prize laureate Orhan Pamuk. A passionate advocate for freedom of expression, Orhan spoke from first-hand experience about the dangers to writers. In 2021, he was investigated by the Turkish state for “insulting” the founder of modern Turkey and “ridiculing” the Turkish flag in his new novel, Nights of Plague. This was his first visit to City of Asylum: “What you are doing here is so important. Please continue to do it.” Orhan encouraged us to continue expanding our writer sanctuary: the need to protect writers is now greater than ever before.
On October 29, 2022—the day of the Freedom to Create Keynote, we celebrated the 18th Anniversary of City of Asylum. Diane and Henry started City of Asylum to provide a safe home for one exiled writer. Over the last eighteen years, City of Asylum has grown dramatically. From having one writer living in one house in 2004 to 2023, when 7 writers—and their families—will be in residence at the same time. We now have five “House Publications,” the houses with artwork on their façades where the writers live.
What started as a single Jazz Poetry concert on Sampsonia Way nearly 20 year ago, has evolved into a calendar of more than 150 free programs per year at Alphabet City, a place where we gather to hear and question authors, musicians, filmmakers.…to be introduced to unfamiliar voices and one another. And our online programming has expanded our reach from Pittsburgh’s Northside to the entire world.
There is no other organization in Pittsburgh like City of Asylum. Nor is there a space where freedom of expression is protected and celebrated, and programs are free and accessible to all.
Thanks to the support of a community of more than 3000 individuals, City of Asylum is the world’s largest sanctuary for exiled writers and artists. In early 2023, we expect to have 7 exiled writers-in-residence in City of Asylum, the most we have ever had at the same time. When they arrive, more exiled writers will be neighbors on Sampsonia Way than in all the ICORN cities of England, France, and Germany combined.
And over the last five years, Alphabet City has become one of the most important presenting venues in Pittsburgh. Since opening in 2017, we have presented more than 900 free readings, concerts, and films for an audience of over 120,000 people.
All of this has been possible because of the support from thousands of individuals like you. Individual contributors are the core of our funding, and critical to our survival.
Recognizing how important individual supporters are to our survival, a family foundation in Pittsburgh has offered a $25,000 match challenge. Any gift you make before December 31 can be matched 100%, until we reach the $25,000 goal. Receiving this match will double the impact of your contribution on all of our programs.
Please help us continue our work in 2023 by making a donation to City of Asylum today helping us secure these matching funds to continue our work in the coming year.
Sincerely,
Andrés Franco
Executive Director
