City of Asylum Detroit kicks off the first ever Cities of Asylum Solidarity Tour, an annual panel of writers, artists, musicians, and journalists who have been attacked, imprisoned, and censored because of their work. This year’s theme is “Dissidence: Exiled Writers on Resistance and Risk.”

Cities of Asylum, a safe haven network to protect writers’ freedom of expression and physical safety, was inspired by Salman Rushdie, who suffered an attempted assassination last month. City of Asylum Detroit is the newest of four branches in the US. Since opening our doors in 2020, we’ve brought feminist Burmese poet Pencilio, queer Nigerian novelist Pwaangulongii Dauod, Haitian photojournalist Dieu-Nalio Chery and Haitian videographer Mathide Chery Debel to safety in our city, where they are thriving and contributing to Detroit’s cultural life.

Dissidence panelists include essayist Pwaangulongii Dauod, who received death threats for writing about queer culture in Nigeria; poet Dmitry Bykov, who nearly died in a poisoning, then was banned from teaching or appearing on Russian TV; political cartoonist Pedro X. Molina, who watched Nicaraguan state forces jail his colleagues and occupy his newspaper's offices; and novelist Anouar Rahmani, who was threatened with imprisonment for writing about human rights in Algeria.

All four were forced to flee their homelands, and all four found safe haven in a City of Asylum in the United States.

The attack on Rushdie is a brutal reminder of the importance of the mission of City of Asylum Detroit and the values we will continue to defend. Come hear the stories of dissident writers who have found safety thanks to his work, and learn about their commitment to free creative expression at this evening of readings and lively conversation.

Dissidence: Exiled Writers on Resistance and Risk is supported by a grant from Cornell University’s Migrations Global Grand Challenge and the Mellon Foundation’s Just Futures Initiative.