This presentation will feature exiled writers who are part of City of Asylum's Exiled Writer Residency Program, which is a long-term residency for literary writers who are in exile from their home countries and under threat of persecution because of their writing. The goal of this sanctuary program, which is operated on the Northside in Pittsburgh, is to enable each writer-in-residence to continue to write while transitioning to a stable, independent life in exile.
Moniru Ravanipur is an Iranian writer in exile, who has been a resident writer at City of Asylum Las Vegas as well as a Fellow at the International Writers Project at Brown University. She is an outspoken activist on behalf of Iranian women and the author of a dozen books including Ahl-e Ghargh (The Drowned), Del-e Fulad (Heart of Steel), and Kowli Kenar-e Atash (Gypsy by Fire). She was among 17 activists to face trial in Iran for their participation in the 2000 Berlin Conference, for which they were accused of taking part in anti-Iran propaganda.
