The theme of the December evening was reflected in the anthology’s title.  Sarah read a poem about America, “America, I Saw You,” written by ICOA co-founder Bridget Meeds. Sarah then read a second poem of her own, “Swaziland, I Witnessed You,” responding to Bridget’s poem.  Irakli read a new prose piece of his own that reflected on the condition of being in exile.  The new anthology and a variety of chapbooks by the writers sponsored by ICOA are for sale at Buffalo Street Books.

Sarah Mkhonza reading her poem “American, I Saw You” (©William J. Phelan)

At the event, ICOA also had the opportunity to interact with members of the community and discuss our mission. The Durland Alternatives Library, Veterans Sanctuary and the Tompkins County Workers Center were among the many other CTA partners also represented at the event. It was interesting to see the wide range of partners supported by CTA. ICOA was proud to be included in their number and was happy to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Center, with appreciation for its continued support of our organization.

Khet Mar read from her work Sunday, October 2 at 2:00 p.m. to a full audience in the BorgWarner Community Room at the Tompkins County Public Library.

Founded in 2001, Ithaca City of Asylum (ICOA) is part of a worldwide network that supports writers whose works are suppressed, whose lives are threatened, whose cultures are vanishing, or whose languages are endangered. ICOA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action, Cornell University.

Khet Mar has been persecuted by the Burmese government for her political activism since she was 19. In 1991 she was sentenced to ten years in prison for protesting the house arrest of pro-democracy leader Aung Sun Suu Kyi, which prevented the leader from accepting the Nobel Peace Prize. After one year, Khet Mar was released during a period of national amnesty, but future threats of imprisonment led her to seek refuge in the United States in 2007.

After fleeing Burma, Khet Mar became a visiting fellow at the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, and in 2010 she participated in the Pen World Voices Festival of International Literature. She is currently writer-in-residence for the City of Asylum/Pittsburgh. She is the author of a novel, “Wild Snowy Night,” several collections of short stories, essays and poems. Her work has been translated into English and Japanese, has been broadcast on radio and has been made into a film.

This event was funded in part by Poets & Writers, Inc. with public funds from New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. Additional support was provided by the Creative Writing Program, the Rose Goldsen Lecture Series, and the Flora Rose House at Cornell University; the Ithaca College Department of Writing; Wells College; Buffalo Street Books; Mia Restaurant; Za-Za’s Cucina; Gimme! Coffee; and an anonymous donor.

Khet Mar’s October 2 reading and the reception following it were free and open to the public.

For the period 2011-2012, Kathleen Rourke will serve as chair of the board; Dan Renfrow as vice chair; Kathleen Gemmell as secretary; and Mark Temelko as treasurer.

ICOA was formed as a part of an international network of cities of refuge under the auspices of CRESP Center for Transformative Action, a non-profit organization affiliated with Cornell University.  The group works in partnership with Cornell University, Ithaca College, Wells College and several community organizations.

This year ICOA celebrates its tenth year working in the Ithaca community.  A brochure detailing the group’s work over the past decade and the writers it has supported is available below.

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.

In celebration of 10 years of providing a safe haven to oppressed writers, Ithaca City of Asylum (ICOA) sponsored a marathon reading, Voices of Freedom, featuring many of the community’s talented authors. This was a unique opportunity to hear local authors—including Cornell faculty James M. McConkey, Alison Lurie, Helena Maria Viramontes, and Ernesto Quiñonez, —read from their own works, in celebration of the right of free speech and in support of ICOA’s work. The reading took place on Saturday, November 6, 2010, from 1–4 pm at the new Kitchen Theatre Company, 417 W. State / Martin Luther King Jr. St., in downtown Ithaca.

Ithaca City of Asylum, which began in early 2001, is one of only four cities in the United States providing asylum for writers. In its 10-year history, ICOA has provided a safe place to live and work for four international writers and their families. In the face of political repression, these writers have spoken up for freedom of expression in their own countries and continue to do so within Ithaca’s supportive and creative community.

ICOA’s guests have included Yi Ping, a poet from China; Reza Daneshvar, a playwright and novelist from Iran; Sarah Mkhonza, a fiction writer and linguist from Swaziland; and, most recently, Irakli Kakabadze, a poet, playwright, and journalist from the Republic of Georgia. All have done significant creative work while living in Ithaca, published chapbooks with the assistance of ICOA, taught at local schools, and contributed to the community’s cultural life by participating in various literary, scholarly, and political events. Reflecting their appreciation of the life they’ve been able to build here, three of four hosted writers still happily reside and work in Ithaca.

Kakabadze, a writer, peace studies scholar and activist, and his wife, Anna Dolidze, now a research fellow at Cornell Law School, fled the Republic of Georgia in 2006 after he was beaten, arrested and had his life threatened for protesting repressive government actions. The two are the subject of the documentary film ‘At the Top of My Voice.’ He lives in Ithaca as part of the Ithaca City of Asylum Writers Project.

Kakabadze will discuss the persecution he endured in Russia and share his poetry and writings.

This program is free and open to the public.

Tompkins County Library, Borg Warner room
Thursday, September 30
6:00PM-8:30PM

On April 7, “Acting Locally: Building Peace Through Creative Arts,” will be held at Cornell University to celebrate Kakabadze’s work in Ithaca, particularly his efforts to engage students in political issues through creative arts. The event will be held at 4:30 in Kaufmann Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall at Cornell.

At the event, student members of Kakabadze’s seminar, “Peace-Building and Creative Arts.” will discuss their experiences working with Kakabadze. An excerpt from Kakabadze’s play, Candidate Jokola, will be performed by J.G. Hertzler, Michael Kaplan, Rockwell Shah, and Akilah Terry, and directed by Beth Milles, all of Cornell. The performance will be followed by a screening of Christian Madera’s film, Rethinking Tragedy: Creative Solutions to Conflict in the Caucasus, which depicts the student performances in Kakabadze’s class. A dialogue on the role of art to effect social change will follow the film.

“Art is a good way to overcome conflicts by using creative thinking to communicate,” says Kakabadze. In 2003, Kakabadze co-founded the Georgian Theatre for Change, which transformed the monologue of a theatrical performance into a dialogue between audience and stage. The theatre was part of the movement that led to the Rose Revolution, a bloodless uprising that led to the resignation of President Eduard Shevardnadze and the call for new national elections. Fearing for his safety and that of his family because of his writings and activism, Kakabadze sought refuge with the International Cities of Refuge Network, which referred him to ICOA, an organization that provides sanctuary to writers whose works are suppressed and whose lives are threatened.

“Peace is a dangerous idea to some people,” says Kakabadze. A documentary about his ongoing struggle for human rights in Georgia, At the Top of My Voice, was released in 2009.

“Irakli feels that it’s really important to talk about the power of artists as activists and the artists’ contributions to peace-making,” said Travis Winter, a board member of ICOA. “It’s all about getting different perspectives. He wants to emphasize the multiple contributions of people who wouldn’t have been part of the discussion had there been only one voice.”

Vista Periodista, a press that supports the Ithaca City of Asylum, is publishing an American edition of Candidate Jokola. The April 7 event is co-sponsored by Ithaca City of Asylum; Cornell University Department of Government; Cornell University Department of Theatre, Film, and Dance; Cornell University Creative Writing Program; Cornell University Peace Studies Program; and Vista Periodista.