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Home » Programs » Page 19
Thursday Night Jazz: Randy Napoleon, Jeff Pedraz & Thomas Wendt's Celebration of Detroit, Philly & Pittsburgh Jazz

Thursday Night Jazz: Randy Napoleon, Jeff Pedraz & Thomas Wendt’s Celebration of Detroit, Philly & Pittsburgh Jazz

Philadelphia, Detroit, and Pittsburgh are three of the most important cities in jazz, each churning out an astounding number of jazz masters. Guitarist Randy Napoleon (Detroit), bassist Jeff Pedraz (Philadelphia), and drummer Thomas Wendt (Pittsburgh) come together in this concert ...
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Drue Heinz Literature Prize Presents: 45th Anniversary Reading with Prizewinners Bill Gaythwaite, Caroline Kim & Kelly Sather

Drue Heinz Literature Prize Presents: 45th Anniversary Reading with Prizewinners Bill Gaythwaite, Caroline Kim & Kelly Sather

A reading and celebration of short fiction honoring 45 years of the Drue Heinz Prize, one of the most significant short fiction awards in the nation, with current and alumni prizewinners ...
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Thursday Night Jazz: Lou Stellute Quartet's Jazz Standards (plus Spontaneous, Beautiful & Funky Improvisations)

Thursday Night Jazz: Lou Stellute Quartet’s Jazz Standards (plus Spontaneous, Beautiful & Funky Improvisations)

Lou Stellute, Antonio Croes, Ava Lintz, and George Heid III take the stage for a set of jazz standards mixed in with a musically inventive, funky, free, and improvisational performance! ...
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Writer-in-Residence: Anouar Rahmani's "The End of the Third World" (Book Preview)

Writer-in-Residence: Anouar Rahmani’s “The End of the Third World” (Book Preview)

City of Asylum’s Writer-in-Residence series continues with an exciting preview of Algerian writer and activist Anouar Rahmani’s forthcoming new novel, "The End of the Third World"—a project seven years in the making ...
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Story Club PGH Presents: Story Slam! (Home)

Story Club PGH Presents: Story Slam! (Home)

Is it an address, a favorite place, or a loved one? This November, come ready to share (or judge!) stories exploring all the many things we call Home ...
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30 Programs found.

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Today
  • August 2025
  • Tue 19
    August 19 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm EDT

    Writer-in-Residence: Rania Mamoun (Sudan) & Reem Alghazzi’s “Becoming Iphigenia”

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    A film screening curated by Writer-in-Residence Rania Mamoun, highlighting filmmaker Reem Alghazzi’s feature-length creative documentary following the story of nine Syrian women’s escape from war.

    Thu 21
    August 21 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm EDT

    Thursday Night Jazz: Theron Brown’s “Spirit Fruit” (Album Launch)

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    A discussion and performance from master pianist Theron Brown, in conversation with Grammy Award–winning producer Kamau Kenyatta, on his expertly blended gospel and jazz album, "Spirit Fruit."

    Sun 24
    August 24 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm EDT

    World Literature: Cleyvis Natera’s “The Grand Paloma Resort”

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream TicketsBuy the Book

    Praised as a “gripping…lush and suspenseful summer read” (Al Dìa) with echoes of the pop culture phenomenon The White Lotus (Crime Reads), "The Grand Paloma Resort" grabs readers and refuses to let go. 

    Wed 27
    August 27 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm EDT

    World of Music: Hugo Cruz’s Voice of the Drums ft. Chantal Joseph

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    Drummer Hugo Cruz shines a spotlight on percussion with vocalist Chantal Joseph and an all-star lineup of local musicians to fuse traditional Cuban drums with classic jazz compositions.

    Thu 28
    August 28 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm EDT

    Thursday Night Jazz: Tony Campbell’s Alto Sax Madness (A Tribute to Richie Cole & Eric Kloss)

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    Tony Campbell, Victor Garzotto, Dwayne Dolphin, and Roger Humphries pay tribute to legendary saxophonists Richie Cole and Eric Kloss in the final Thursday Night Jazz concert of the summer.

  • September 2025
  • Tue 2
    September 2 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm EDT

    Story Club PGH Presents: Story Slam! (Under Pressure)

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    Be it a physical weight or an emotional strain, we’ve all felt the pressure from time to time. This September, come ready to share (or judge!) stories tackling the Story Slam theme of Under Pressure.

  • October 2025
  • Mon 6
    October 6 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm EDT

    Reel Q Presents: Global Shorts at the 40th Annual Reel Q Film Festival

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    City of Asylum hosts a film screening of global shorts as part of Reel Q’s 40th Annual Film Festival (the longest-running festival in Pittsburgh!)

    Tue 7
    October 7 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm EDT

    Story Club PGH Presents: Story Slam! (The Unexpected)

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    Try though we might to plan for the future, something always comes up that we just didn’t see coming. This October, come ready to share (or judge!) stories tackling the Story Slam theme of The Unexpected.

    Thu 16
    October 16 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm EDT

    Thursday Night Jazz: Roger Humphries + The RH Factor

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    Jazz Legacy Fellow and Pittsburgh legend Roger Humphries takes to the stage with the RH Factor for a collaborative, community-driven performance highlighting the true spirit of jazz.

    Sat 18
    October 18 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm EDT

    LitFest 2025: Black Womanhood in Pittsburgh with Yona Harvey & Tahirah J. Walker

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    Poet Yona Harvey and scholar Tahira J. Walker explore what it means to be a Black woman living in a city deemed most unlivable for them. The pair will discuss their respective works and the intersection of history, community, marginalization, and resistance. In conversation with Damon Young.

    Sat 18
    October 18 @ 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm EDT

    LitFest 2025: Books From My Country You Should Know with Olena Boryshpolets (Ukraine), Bertony Louis (Haiti), Anouar Rahmani (Algeria) & Mukhtar Shehata (Egypt)

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    What are we missing when we limit the literary canon to American works? In this reading and discussion, City of Asylum Writers-in-Residence share the books and writers from their home countries—Algeria, Egypt, Haiti, and Ukraine—that made an impact on their respective literary scenes and that all US readers should add to their lists.

    Sat 18
    October 18 @ 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm EDT

    LitFest 2025: Trans/Nonbinary Ecopoetics in the Garden with Julian Talamantez Brolaski, Aaron El Sabrout & imogen xtian smith

    Free In-Person Tickets

    Poets Aaron El Sabrout, imogen xtian smith, and Julian Talamantez Brolaski take to the Alphabet Reading Garden for a poetic exploration of trans and nonbinary ecologies and understanding one’s own ecosystems.

    Sat 18
    October 18 @ 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm EDT

    LitFest 2025: Translation Slam (Ukrainian) with Author Volodymyr Rafeyenko & Translators Mark Andryczyk, Dominique Hoffman & Halyna Hryn

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    Writer-in-Residence Volodymyr Rafeyenko has supplied a 600-word essay in Ukrainian to be translated by Mark Andryczyk, Dominique Hoffman, and Halyna Hryn. In this program, Mark, Dominique, and Halyna go head-to-head to defend their revealed translations. Who will come out on top?

    Sat 18
    October 18 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm EDT

    LitFest 2025: Bringing the Classics to Today with MacArthur Genius Anne Carson (“Cassandra Float Can,” “Antigonick”)

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    Anne Carson, one of the most celebrated classicists of our times, will participate in staged readings from her works "Cassandra Float Can" (based on Aeschylus’s "Cassandra") and "Antigonick" (based on Sophokles’s "Antigone").

    Sun 19
    October 19 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm EDT

    LitFest 2025: Indigenous Language Acts with Erin Marie Lynch, Julian Talamantez Brolaski & Layli Long Soldier

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    A dynamic discussion that will traverse hybrid and experimental poetic forms as well as the art, broadly speaking, of translation. Moderated by Michelle Gil-Montero.

    Sun 19
    October 19 @ 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm EDT

    LitFest 2025: Bringing Chinese Literature to America with Editor Han Zhang (Riverhead Books) & Translator Jeremy Tiang

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    Zhang Yueran’s translated novel "Women, Seated" has become an undeniable hit among American audiences. But what does it take to bring Chinese literature to the US? In conversation with Anderson Tepper, editor Han Zhang and translator Jeremy Tiang will discuss the translation process and the importance of translated literature in America.

    Sun 19
    October 19 @ 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm EDT

    LitFest 2025: Poetry, Comedy & Storytelling in American Sign Language with NuNu Davis & Lisa McBee

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    City of Asylum welcomes Deaf storytellers and poets KJ Johnstein, Val Wojton, Mj Shahen, NuNu Davis, and Lisa McBee for performances in American Sign Language (ASL) and Visual Vernacular (VV).

    Sun 19
    October 19 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm EDT

    LitFest 2025: Love & Family, India & America, Tradition & Modernity with Booker Prize Winner Kiran Desai (“The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny”)

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    2006 Booker Prize winner Kiran Desai returns to City of Asylum to share her triumphant, deeply romantic, newly Booker Prize–shortlisted novel, “The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny,” in conversation with Anderson Tepper.

    Tue 21
    October 21 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm EDT

    Writer-in-Residence: Olena Boryshpolets’s “New Calypso” with Christopher Rivas & Lesya Verba (Book Launch)

    Alphabet City Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    A captivating musical theater performance and book launch of Writer-in-Residence Olena Boryshpolets’s new long-form poem, featuring actor Christopher Rivas and bandura musician Lesya Verba.

    Wed 22
    October 22 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm EDT

    PGHwrites: Andrew Swensen & Yan Pang’s “Shelter” (Musical Theatre Showcase)

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    From the minds of Andrew Swensen and Yan Pang, City of Asylum hosts a showcase of “Shelter,” the story of scars carried from childhood into adulthood, how pain can distort our perception and damage our relationships, and how we find our strength through it.

    Thu 23
    October 23 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm EDT

    Thursday Night Jazz: Randy Napoleon, Jeff Pedraz & Thomas Wendt’s Celebration of Detroit, Philly & Pittsburgh Jazz

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    Philadelphia, Detroit, and Pittsburgh are three of the most important cities in jazz, each churning out an astounding number of jazz masters. Guitarist Randy Napoleon (Detroit), bassist Jeff Pedraz (Philadelphia), and drummer Thomas Wendt (Pittsburgh) come together in this concert to celebrate the storied jazz legacies of their hometowns.

    Tue 28
    October 28 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm EDT

    Drue Heinz Literature Prize Presents: 45th Anniversary Reading with Prizewinners Bill Gaythwaite, Caroline Kim & Kelly Sather

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    A reading and celebration of short fiction honoring 45 years of the Drue Heinz Prize, one of the most significant short fiction awards in the nation, with current and alumni prizewinners.

    Thu 30
    October 30 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm EDT

    Thursday Night Jazz: Lou Stellute Quartet’s Jazz Standards (plus Spontaneous, Beautiful & Funky Improvisations)

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    Lou Stellute, Antonio Croes, Ava Lintz, and George Heid III take the stage for a set of jazz standards mixed in with a musically inventive, funky, free, and improvisational performance!

  • November 2025
  • Sun 2
    November 2 @ 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm EST

    Writer-in-Residence: Anouar Rahmani’s “The End of the Third World” (Book Preview)

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    City of Asylum’s Writer-in-Residence series continues with an exciting preview of Algerian writer and activist Anouar Rahmani’s forthcoming new novel, "The End of the Third World"—a project seven years in the making.

    Tue 4
    November 4 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm EST

    Story Club PGH Presents: Story Slam! (Home)

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    Is it an address, a favorite place, or a loved one? This November, come ready to share (or judge!) stories exploring all the many things we call Home.

    Thu 6
    November 6 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm EST

    Thursday Night Jazz: Paul Thompson Quintet’s Tribute to Pat Metheny

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    Paul Thompson, Scott Boni, Dan Wilson, Glenn Zaleski, and David Throckmorton pay tribute to 20-time Grammy award–winning guitarist (and longtime inspiration) Pat Metheny.

    Tue 11
    November 11 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm EST

    Reel Q Presents: An International Queer Film Screening

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    We welcome back our partners at Reel Q this fall for an international film screening!

    Mon 17
    November 17 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm EST

    On Topic: George Packer’s “The Emergency” (Imperial Collapse & Humanity)

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    “The Atlantic” staff writer George Packer shares his new work of fiction, “The Emergency,” in conversation with writer, critic, and performance poet Adriana E. Ramírez.

    Thu 20
    November 20 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm EST

    Thursday Night Jazz: Thomas Wendt’s Jazz at the Philharmonic (Norman Granz, the Jazz Jam Session & the Struggle for Equality)

    Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    Thomas Wendt and a multi-generational band pay homage to Norman Granz, jazz promoter, visionary, and advocate for equal treatment of musicians in Jim Crow–era America.

  • December 2025
  • Tue 2
    December 2 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm EST

    Story Club PGH Presents: Story Slam! (Unfinished Business)

    Alphabet City Pittsburgh, PA, United States
    Free In-Person TicketsFree Livestream Tickets

    Story Club Pittsburgh (created by the former producers of The Moth Pittsburgh) wants you to take a closer look at your past. This December, come ready to share (or judge!) stories taking on Unfinished Business.

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City of Asylum builds a just community by protecting and celebrating freedom of creative expression.
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Pittsburgh, PA 15212
Phone: 412-435-1110
Email: contact@cityofasylumpittsburgh.org
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