Susan Hartman book talk "City of Refugees"

7 East 12th Street,New York NY 10003

09 February, 2023

Description

In the 1990s, Utica, New York was nearly destroyed by depopulation and arson. Real estate prices were so low that entire streets of the old upstate manufacturing town were torched for insurance payouts. In City of Refugees, Susan Hartman shows how an influx of refugees—Vietnamese, Bosnians, Somalis, Iraqis, Burmese, and other groups—helped revive this small city, opening small businesses, fixing up abandoned houses, and adding a spark of vitality to forlorn streets. This book sprang from a story Hartman wrote about Utica for the New York Times in 2014. Her first week reporting, she met three newcomers—Sadia, Ali, and Mersiha—and their families. After the story was published, she followed them for almost a decade as they adapted to a new world. Susan’s book was published in June 2022 and the New York Times ran a companion article. Light refreshments will be served. Anyone interested in purchasing the book will get a 20% discount if they buy it directly from beacon.org. The code for the book is COR20. Purchasers go to http://www.beacon.org/City-of-Refugees-P1783.aspx, click the add to cart button, then there will be a field for the coupon code on the next screen, good through January 2023. Attendees are invited (but not required) to read the book in advance and bring their questions to the event. In-Person Requirements: Guests to NYU’s campus need to be in compliance with NYU’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements and be prepared to present proof of compliance if asked to do so. About Susan Hartman Susan Hartman has written about immigrant communities for over 20 years. Her cover stories and profiles have appeared in the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, and Newsday. The author of two books of poetry, she was educated at Kirkland College and received an MFA from Columbia University’s School of the Arts, where she now teaches. She lives outside New York City with her husband; they have 2 grown children. About Jenny McPhee Jenny McPhee is the Academic Director of the Center for Publishing and Applied Liberal Arts Continuing Education Programs and Clinical Assistant Professor. She is the author of the novels The Center of Things, No Ordinary Matter, and A Man of No Moon, and she co-authored Girls: Ordinary Girls and Their Extraordinary Pursuits. Her translations from the Italian include books by the authors Natalia Ginzburg, Primo Levi, Giacomo Leopardi, Curzio Malaparte, Anna Maria Ortese, Paolo Maurensig, and Pope John Paul II. She has taught literary translation at Princeton University and co-founded the Bronx Academy of Letters, an NYC public high school and middle school. She is a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship. About the NYU SPS Academy of Lifelong Learning: The Academy of Lifelong Learning (ALL) at the School of Professional Studies is a community that brings together a diverse population of students of all ages committed to the ongoing and self-motivated pursuit of knowledge. Through the newly launched ALL website, students can explore upcoming continuing education course offerings in the humanities and global affairs as well as participate in events and clubs.