“Despite all sense of belonging and nationality, nobody can make you stay in a place that is dangerous and unfavorable to you.” Exiled writer Israel Centeno on the power of leaving and the pain of leaving Venezuela.
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We look back at the most-read columns of 2013, featuring contributions from Tarik Günersel (Turkey), Bina Shah (Pakistan), Khet Mar (Burma), Israel Centeno (Venezuela), Hamdy el-Gazzar (Egypt), Tienchi Martin-Liao (China), Horacio Castellanos Moya (El Salvador), and Yaghoub Yadali (Iran).
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Sampsonia Way presents the ultimate book list based on the 19 Salon Readings that City of Asylum/Pittsburgh held during 2013. Each of the books on the list was written, edited, or translated by the stellar lineup of invited writers, journalists, and translators. Enjoy!
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“Expatriation—waking up one morning startled by agoraphobia, sentenced and expelled with no possibility of return—has another name and, why not, another destination: Saskatchewan.” Israel Centeno on Richard Ford’s novel, Canada.
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In light of the holiday season, Sampsonia Way’s international columnists share their 2013 reading recommendations. Selected by Israel Centeno, Tarik Günersel, Yaghoub Yadali, Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo, Mesfin Negash, Hamd El-Gazzar, Bina Shah, and Tienchi Martin-Liao.
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Writer Israel Centeno’s ‘search to ascribe a tangible meaning to the oblique feeling that goes above and beyond simple nostalgia’ has led him to a close reading of Fernando Pessoa’s works and the stories of Venezuelan writer Enza García Arreaza.
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Continuing with his discussion on exile, writer Israel Centeno offers an examination of the word “hiraeth” – “that unattainable yearning felt for a person, figure, or even nation that probably never existed” – and a reading of Black Sand, a novel by Venezuelan author Juan Carlos Méndez Guedéz.
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