City of Asylum

08/24/2026

TOMORROW: Motherhood in America with Jamilah Lemieux

What does motherhood look like when race, gender, and society shape the challenges families face?

Tomorrow night, Tuesday, August 25 at 7 PM, City of Asylum welcomes celebrated writer and cultural critic Jamilah Lemieux for On Topic: America at 250 — Motherhood in America.

Drawing from her book Black. Single. Mother., Lemieux brings together personal essays and intimate first-person testimonies from Black single mothers, creating space for a deeper conversation about motherhood, family, identity, and the support—or lack of support—available to those doing the work of caregiving.

Join us for an evening of honest storytelling and conversation about the realities of motherhood in America: https://cityofasylum.org/program/on-topic-america-at-250-motherhood-in-america-with-jamilah-lemieux..

08/22/2026

There’s a lot happening at this week! Join us at Alphabet City for literature, poetry, conversation, and jazz — all with free in-person and livestream tickets.

TOMORROW: Sunday, August 23 | 3 PM
Artist in Exile: Mukhtar Shehata’s Makaki de Afrika (Egypt)
with translator Melissa Krawczyk
A reading and conversation around a multigenerational mystery exploring exile, identity, inherited trauma, slavery, and religious syncretism.

Monday, August 24 | 7 PM
PGHwrites: Pittsburgh Poetry Collective’s Steel City Poetry Slam
Get ready for another lively night of original poetry, competition, and audience participation with our longtime friends at Pittsburgh Poetry Collective.

Tuesday, August 25 | 7 PM
On Topic: America at 250 — Motherhood in America with Jamilah Lemieux
Lemieux explores the experiences of Black single mothers through personal essays and intimate testimonies, challenging the ways motherhood, race, gender, and family are understood in American culture. Free book giveaway included.

Thursday, August 27 | 7 PM
Thursday Night Jazz: Roger Humphries Big Band Plays the Music of Horace Silver
Roger Humphries and his 10-piece big band celebrate the legendary hard bop pianist and composer Horace Silver, whose music helped shape modern jazz.

Come spend time with us this week. Which event will we see you at?

Check out all of our upcoming programs + get free tickets at cityofasylum.org/programs.

08/21/2026

This Sunday (8/23) join City of Asylum Writer-in-Residence Mukhtar Shehata for a reading and discussion of the forthcoming English translation of his novel "Makaki de Afrika (The African Monkey)".

The work is structured as a multi-generational mystery blending Brazilian, Syrian, Polish-Jewish, and West African Muslim threads—exploring slavery, religious syncretism, exile, inherited trauma, and the porousness of identity across diasporas.

Learn more and reserve your FREE ticket at cityofasylum.org/program/artist-in-exile-mukhtar-shehata.

08/20/2026

📚 Book Pick of the Week: "The Song of the Stork and Dromedary"

What happens when a writer’s work refuses to stay in the past?

Anjet Daanje’s "The Song of the Stork and Dromedary", translated by David McKay, is a sweeping literary mystery that follows the haunted legacy of Eliza May Drayden, a Brontë-esque novelist from the 1800s whose work continues to captivate—and unsettle—readers for centuries.

Told through eleven interconnected stories spanning nearly 300 years, the novel is part literary puzzle, part family saga, and part meditation on art, obsession, love, death, and the stories we inherit.

The first book to win both of the Netherlands’ major literary prizes — the Libris Literature Prize and the Boekenbon Literature Prize — "The Song of the Stork and Dromedary" is a remarkable addition to the world of translated literature.

Who was Eliza May Drayden? And what secrets are hidden inside her mysterious novel, Haeger Mass?

Read it to find out.

📖 Explore "The Song of the Stork and Dromedary" and more translated books from City of Asylum Books.

Explore this week’s picks and the full list at bit.ly/4glFk1v.

08/17/2026

HAPPENING TOMORROW: On Tuesday, August 18, City of Asylum presents On Topic: America at 250 — Profound Autism in America, bringing together photographer Lynn Johnson, writer Amy S. F. Lutz, and filmmaker Jose Muniain for an evening centered on the real lives and lived experiences of people with profound autism.

The program will feature a screening of Living With Profound Autism, the photodocumentary created by Johnson and Muniain, alongside a conversation about Lutz’s book "We Walk: Life with Severe Autism." Together, these works invite us to look beyond familiar stereotypes and engage more deeply with questions of inclusion, family, community, friendship, and our shared responsibilities to one another.

📍 Alphabet City, 40 W. North Avenue
🎟️ Free in-person and livestream tickets available
🔗 cityofasylum.org/program/on-topic-profound-autism-with-lynn-johnson-amy-s-f-lutz-jose-muniain

08/16/2026

Kick off the school year with City of Asylum! There’s plenty happening this week, from conversations on autism and representation to poetry, performance, and literature from around the world.

📚 Tuesday, August 18 | 7 PM
On Topic: America at 250 — Profound Autism in America
Join Lynn Johnson, Amy S.F. Lutz, and Jose Muniain for a screening and conversation centered on the lived experiences of people with profound autism.

📖 Sunday, August 23 | 3 PM
Artist in Exile: Mukhtar Shehata’s Makaki de Afrika
Author Mukhtar Shehata and translator Melissa Krawczyk discuss the forthcoming English translation of this sweeping, multigenerational novel exploring exile, identity, trauma, and the histories connecting communities across continents. A reception with complimentary food and drinks follows.

🎤 Monday, August 24 | 7 PM
PGHwrites: Pittsburgh Poetry Collective’s Steel City Poetry Slam
Get ready for another lively night of original poetry, competition, and audience participation as Pittsburgh Poetry Collective brings the Steel City Poetry Slam back to City of Asylum.

All three events are FREE, with in-person and livestream options available. Come celebrate the start of a new school year with great books, bold ideas, and voices from around the world.

Visit cityofasylum.org/programs for tickets and more information.

08/13/2026

Did you know August is Women in Translation Month? Started by Meytal Radzinski in 2014, has grown to become a staple of the online literary community, as well as a prominent presence in independent bookstores around the world.

Join us in discovering voices that you may not have encountered otherwise – and celebrate the art of translation that makes these works accessible to readers everywhere: cityofasylumbooks.org/list/august-women-translation-month-2.

08/10/2026

What if the boundaries of time and space could be crossed as easily as the threshold of a door frame?

Join us TOMORROW (August 11) for an enthralling discussion with Madeleine Thien on her new work "The Book of Records." Reserve your free ticket, or purchase the book, at cityofasylum.org/program/world-literature-madeleine-thien.

Booker Prize–shortlisted author Madeleine Thien discusses her latest work, a “Time” Must-Read Book of the Year.

08/08/2026

From World Literature to Thursday Night Jazz, there's always something happening at Alphabet City! Review upcoming programs at cityofasylum.org/programs.

08/06/2026

TONIGHT: Musician, ethnomusicologist, and author of the incredible ode to Pittsburgh’s jazz history Jazz in the Hill, Colter Harper takes to the stage to celebrate the life and music of singer-songwriter and activist Caetano Veloso. RSVP at

A dedicated musician and staunch activist in his own right, Colter Harper and bandmates Kelsey Jumper, José Luis Martins, Tony DePaolis, and Lucas Ashby honor nine-time Latin Grammy winner and member of the Tropicália arts movement Caetano Veloso.