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The Secret of the Sky

The Secret of the Sky CHARACTERS   The PRISONER: The JAILER: The MONK:     a man in his early 30s—bearded, disheveled, dressed in a long-sleeved T-shirt, gray sweat pants, and (when standing) sandals. a man of… More

Escape Risk

CAST   SKULL LESTER TOOTY BUZZARD ERSKINE GRANGER BETTY JEETER   A madman A fool A blimp An old pervert A runaround A guard A nurse An off-stage voice SCENE: A four-man CELL, open toward the audience, back of the cell are vertical steel bars, with a center… More

Two Years On, Songwriter Remains Imprisoned

International PEN protests the continued imprisonment of singer-songwriter Lapiro de Mbanga (Pierre Roger Lambo Sandjo), whose final appeal has still not been heard despite having served more than two… More

Amir and Khalil: Mehdi’s Gone

"Mehdi’s Gone" is part of Zahra’s Paradise, a story set in the aftermath of Iran’s 2009 elections that First Second Books is publishing online in Farsi, Arabic, English, French,… More

Life

Randy had run out of cigarettes again, and it was killing him. Not a goddamn one of them was working anymore; and the mother had died in the spring… More

In Sfax

I no longer know exactly how this strange premonition came about, but I was certain I was going to die on this trip to Tunisia. I’ve often taken the… More

Twitter: One Writer’s Beginnings

Twitter is of great political consequence in Iran and Gaza, but in the U.S. it is about as consequent as Kim Kardashian or Paris Hilton.Narcissists and exhibitionists abound! What… More