NEW YORK — A festival celebrating Asian American literary works that was suddenly canceled last year by the Smithsonian Institution is being resurrected, organizers announced Thursday.
The Asian American Literature Festival is back, the Asian American Literature Festival Collective said in a statement. It will take place from September 14th to 22nd – but without the help of the Smithsonian. And instead of just taking place in Washington, D.C., in-person and virtual events will be spread across the country.
The Collective and several partner organizations planned readings, salons, workshops and interactive installations. New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Seattle, Atlanta and Athens, Georgia, as well as Champaign, Illinois, will host events. There will also be meetings in New Zealand and Australia.
A biannual event since 2017, the festival brings together writers, editors and others from the Asian diaspora. Traditionally, this has been done in collaboration with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Events were held at Washington locations such as the National Portrait Gallery and the Library of Congress. But last year, a month before the August opening date, the Smithsonian announced it was canceling.
Smithsonian officials told media outlets that the cancellation was for “administrative/logistical reasons.” It had nothing to do with the festival’s content, which included books by transgender and non-binary writers.
Cathy Linh Che, executive director of Kundiman, a nonprofit that promotes Asian American writers and readers, said the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center still owes organizers money.
“We hope the Smithsonian demonstrates accountability and reparation for past harms as a way to rebuild the trust it has broken,” Che said in a statement.
In its own statement, the Smithsonian Institution said it does not rule out the possibility of one day collaborating with the festival again.
“We are delighted to learn that an Asian American literary festival will take place later this year.”
Writers and literary organizations poised to converge say they were blindsided by the decision and left with financial losses.
Organizers say the new approach will allow more people from different communities to participate in the festivities.
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