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M. Butterfly
They say in opera the voice is everything. That’s probably why I’d never before enjoyed opera. Here … here was a Butterfly with little or no voice—but she had… More
Swedish Journalists Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison
Swedish journalists Johann Persson and Martin Schibbye were found guilty of entering the country illegally and “supporting terrorism,” were each sentenced to 11 years in prison by an Ethiopian… More
PEN Appeal: Raúl Régulo Garza Quirino
January 10, 2012 Lic. Felipe De Jesús Calderón Hinojosa Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos Residencia Oficial de los Pinos Casa Miguel Alemán Col. San Miguel Chapultepec, C.P. 11850, DISTRITO FEDERAL, México Fax: (+… More
Writer Chen Wei Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison
Chen Wei, an honorary member of the Independent Chinese PEN Center and winner of the Liu Xiaobo Courage to Write award, was sentenced on December 23, 2011, to nine… More
Another Writer Receives A Lengthy Prison Term
Dissident writer Chen Xi was sentenced to 10 years in prison on December 26, 2011, for “inciting subversion of state power” in essays published on overseas web sites. More
Selected Poems
Even the wind wants / to become a cart / pulled by butterflies. More
PEN Appeal: Turkey
December 22, 2011 Minister of Justice Mr. Sadullah Ergin 06669 Kizilay Ankara Turkey Fax: 00 90 312 419 3370 Your Excellency, On behalf of the 3,500 members of PEN American Center, an international organization of writers… More
Breathlessness
I was so crazy tired that I said the word ‘slumberland’ under my breath & it took on the charge of invective while it also made a hoop which… More
Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward
Samuel Morris Steward was born July 23, 1909, in Woodsfield, the seat of Monroe County in southeastern Ohio, a county bordering on Appalachia, and in many ways just as… More
dance of the holy ghosts
It’s so hard for me to keep track of you—your coming and going, moon and half moon. When you please, how you ‘apparition.’ It’s hard on a man’s mind… More