In this interview, author Lori Jakiela discusses Pittsburgh’s literary community, her writing process, the “particular kind of truth” in memoir, and why her working-class background is important for her career.
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In this interview conducted at City of Asylum Pittsburgh, poet Angela Jackson discusses the importance of being a curious cultural historian, the writing of Where I Must Go, and the way that Jackson reaches the universal through the hyper-specific.
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Iranian journalist Nazila Fathi has been living in exile since 2009. She sat down with Sampsonia Way to talk about having to leave her country, her work as a journalist, the challenges of reporting in exile, and her current project, a memoir.
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Bernardo Ruiz, director of the documentary Reportero, sat down with Sampsonia Way to discuss violence against reporters in Mexico.
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Shayan Amini and Natch Nadjafi of the Iranian electro-rock duo The Casualty Process talk about the N! Festival where they were arrested, the feelings behind their music, and where one can go to buy a guitar and illegal CDs in Tehran.
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Sampsonia Way sits down with members of Cyberpunk Apocalypse, Pittsburgh’s writer’s cooperative, at their new Northside home. In this interview they discuss the residency program, zines, and how they hope to grow in their new home.
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In this interview, Israel Centeno sits down with Sampsonia Way to talk about his new book Bamboo City (a hybrid text that moves smoothly between poetry and fiction), the translation process, and upcoming publications.
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Peter Bradley, current director of the Speakers’ Corner Trust, talks about the process of establishing a Speakers’ Corner in Nigeria, the importance of face-to-face community interaction, and the work it takes to maintain an effective democracy.
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Former poet laureate of South Africa Keorapetse Kgositsile and K. Mensah Wali, artistic director of Kente Arts Alliance discuss South Africa’s progress since the end of apartheid, the effects of exile on family, and the relationship between poetry and jazz.
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In this interview, Darfuri activist Hawa Abdullah Salih talks about conditions in the IDP camp, her arrest and defamation at the hands of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), and her hope for democracy in Sudan.
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