House Poem by Huang Xiang

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The City of Asylum (COA) is an organization that offers sancuary to writers in exile from their home countries due to thier writing. In the Mexican War Streets area of the Central North Side you'll find several houses where these writers are able to start their new lives free of persecution while they continue to write. The exterior of these houses are adorned with public art that includes text. COA calls them house publishing. Right now there are four published houses on Sampsonia Way, and House Poem was the first one done.

You'll find some information about House Poem on COA's own website.

The first artist in residence for Pittsburgh's City of Asylum was Huang Xiang. Born in Hunan Province, China, he spent his life under communist oppression.  His father was executed in 1951 and he was denied education beyond grade school because of his class and because of his father's political association.  His father had left a hidden room full of college level books and when he discovered them he began to teaching himself at the age of 10. 

His poetry was banned by the government and never published in China, but in 1978 he found himself front and center in Tiananmen Square reciting over 600 lines of poetry to a huge crowd.  His poems were posted on a wall there, known now as the Democracy Wall.  He announced the Enlightenment Society for social reforms and started the democracy movement.  His message to President Carter asking for help and intervention on human rights issues grabbed the world's attention.

Imprisoned six times for his writings and political activism, he spent about 12 years locked up before he finally escaped China in 1997.  He was granted asylum by the United States and in 2004 he and his wife arrived here at Pittsburgh's City of Asylum.  He expressed his joy at the freedom and welcome that he received here by putting his writings on the outside of the house he was living in.  Writing poetry on walls or carving it in stone is a Chinese tradition and Huang Xiang wanted to do that in his new home.  On the door it says "House of a Poet" and "Nest of Dreams".

There is an unofficial translation of this poem, which is titled The Day is Fading towards the end of this article.

An article regarding the house publishings on Sampsonia Way can be found in Pittsburgh Magazine, and here is a good article by Susan Hutton from an interview with Huang Xiang while we was in residence here.