Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette At his studio, sculptor Thad Mosley prepares three pieces that will decorate the new City of Asylum house on the North Side.

By Bob Hoover, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The North Side's Sampsonia Way is barely wide enough for a fat SUV, yet its place in Pittsburgh's cultural community continues to grow.

The longtime home of the Mattress Factory, the city's cutting-edge art gallery, the narrow alley two years ago became the headquarters for the Pittsburgh chapter of Cities of Asylum, an international organization devoted to aiding writers unwelcome in their countries.

Next week, the Pittsburgh chapter will dedicate its second home for an exiled writer on Sampsonia, next door to the Poet's House, where the vanquished bard Huang Xiang lives free from the persecution of his native China.

	George Esiri, Reuters Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka will take part in the dedication of Cities of Asylum's second home on the North Side for an exiled writer. Click photo for larger image.

The ceremonies on Sept. 9 include readings by Nobel Prize-winning playwright and novelist Wole Soyinka of Nigeria and by Xiang, and a jazz concert by Oliver Lake, all to be performed on a stage set up in the alley.

Xiang and his wife, Zhang Lin, became Pittsburgh residents two years ago under the sponsorship of Ralph Reese and his wife, Diane Samuels, the major sponsors of the local chapter.

The couple live in a renovated warehouse on Sampsonia a few doors away from the modest frame houses they've acquired.

While plans continue to bring another author to Pittsburgh, the construction nears an end at Author House, 402 Sampsonia. The tiny two-story structure will get more than a coat of paint; three new pieces by sculptor Thad Mosley will mark the unique nature of the house, as will the front-door window with the writings of Soyinka etched into the glass.

The bare wood siding of Poet's House is covered with white Chinese characters of Xiang's poems.

Mosley's studio is in nearby Manchester and Samuels is a nationally recognized sculptor in her own right.

"Getting Thad was really Diane's idea," Reese said. "She picked him because he's both a great artist and part of the neighborhood."

Bringing Soyinka to town is a major coup for the chapter. The 72-year-old playwright, novelist and essayist won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986 while exiled from his native Nigeria. Changing political climate has allowed him to return home as he remains active in efforts to support free expression.

Along with Salman Rushdie, Soyinka founded the international Cities of Asylum program in 1994 to provide exiled writers with shelters in 34 cities, including four in the United States.

"The whole celebration came together after a meeting this spring in Las Vegas," said Reese. There, he enlisted Soyinka and officials from the nationwide program to back his fund-raising efforts in Pittsburgh next week.

Known best for its gambling casinos, Las Vegas is also the first American town to participate in Cities of Asylum and became headquarters for the U.S. organization earlier this year.

The program begins at 5 p.m. For details, 412-321-2190.