About
Ithaca City of Asylum (ICOA) is a community organization dedicated to providing sanctuary to writers whose works are suppressed, whose lives are threatened, whose cultures are vanishing, or whose languages are endangered. Formed as part of an international network of cities of refuge, ICOA welcomed its first resident writer, poet, and essayist Yi Ping (China) in 2001; its second, playwright and novelist Reza Daneshvar (Iran) in 2004; its third, poet and memoirist Sarah Mkhonza (Swaziland) in 2006; and its fourth, poet and playwright Irakli Kakabadze (Georgia) in 2008. ICOA is presently selecting its fifth writer in residence.
ICOA serves as a bridge into the community, assisting visiting writers and their families in meeting the challenges of a new environment. ICOA is a project of the CRESP Center for Transformative Action, a non-profit organization affiliated with Cornell University, and works in partnership with Cornell, Ithaca College, and Wells College.
ICOA’s resident writers are assisted in meeting their daily expenses while in Ithaca, including housing, furnishings, transportation, translators’ fees, and performance and publication of new work, through contributions to ICOA from individuals, foundations, and corporations. ICOA’s first four resident writers were hosted for two years by Cornell University, which provided a stipend, full employee benefits, and visa sponsorship.
To Make a Donation or to Contact ICOA
ICOA is funded by the generosity of individual donors. To donate, or to find out more about ICOA, please email us at: ICOABOARD@GMAIL.com. You may also call the Board Chair, Kathleen E. Rourke, at 607-387-6815.
You can also donate to ICOA via the PayPal account of the CRESP Center for Transformative Action.
Commemorating Ten Years of Giving Voice to Freedom
On the occasion of it’s tenth anniversary celebration Ithaca City of Asylum (ICOA) recently published the brochure Ithaca City of Asylum: Celebrating Ten Years of Giving Voice to Freedom. The brochure is a retrospective of ICOA’s work supporting writers who face political repression and offers detailed profiles of the writers who have come to Ithaca with the group’s support.
ICOA makes Ithaca one of four U.S. cities networked to support writers whose lives and creativity are at risk. Ithaca’s sister cities in this network are Pittsburgh, Miami, and Las Vegas. In the past ten years the writers supported by ICOA include: Yi Ping from China, Reza Daneshvar from Iran, Sarah Mkhonza from Swaziland, and Irakli Kakabadze from Georgia. While highlighting these four writers, the brochure also provides basic information about the organization, its funding partners, and the volunteers who work on its behalf. ICOA looks forward to continuing its work providing asylum in Ithaca.
Read about the first ten years of our history by clicking here.
Banner image based on a detail of “overlooking ithaca” by almostsummersky. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.
