Tompkins County Public Library

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Library, City of Asylum to Host “Ithaca Out Loud”



Tompkins County Public Library, in partnership with the Ithaca City of Asylum (ICOA), will celebrate the freedom to read with “Ithaca Out Loud,” an evening of literature and theatre, Wednesday, September 27 at 7 p.m. in the Library’s BorgWarner Community Room.

An Ithaca version of the National Public Radio show “Selected Shorts,” this free event will feature stories, poems, and drama by six of Ithaca’s most beloved authors, brought to life by six of the region’s most celebrated actors.

Among the featured works is a story by Raza Rumi, ICOA’s emeritus writer-in-residence, a Pakistani journalist and policy analyst who has authored a memoir, “Delhi by Heart,” and a political history of Pakistan, “A Fractious Path,” both published by HarperCollins India. Rumi is currently teaching at Ithaca College and has taught recently in the Cornell University Institute of Public Affairs. He also serves as consulting editor of the Pakistan weekly “The Friday Times” and contributes to international media outlets, including the “Huffington Post,” “The New York Times,” and “al Jazeera.” Since he arrived in Ithaca, Rumi has participated in numerous local events, including Spring Writes and the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival.

Also appearing in “Ithaca Out Loud” are:

Godfrey Simmons, artistic director of Civic Ensemble, performing a short story by Anthony Di Renzo, who teaches writing at Ithaca College.

Cynthia Henderson, professional actor and associate professor in Ithaca College’s Department of Theatre Arts, performing a folk tale by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alison Lurie.

Kate Klein, Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca graduate, performing a poem by Diane Ackerman, author of two dozen award-winning works of poetry and nonfiction, including “The Zookeeper’s Wife.

This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

ICOA, a not-for-profit project of the Center for Transformative Action, provides refuge in Ithaca for dissident writers and promotes freedom of expression and human rights. Founded in 2001, ICOA is a member—one of only two in North America —of the International Cities of Refuge Network, a worldwide consortium of cities of asylum.

“Ithaca Out Loud” is made possible with support from the Decentralization Grant, a re-grant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County. It is co-sponsored by the Ithaca College departments of Writing and History, the Ithaca College Honors Program, and the Cornell Institute for European Studies, the Cornell South Asia Program, and the Society for the Humanities at Cornell University. Refreshments provided in part by Wegmans.

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