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A Selection of Free-verse Poems
DuskBroken, bare, solitary, lost, an old treecrouches in the desert’s foreboding silence, its thousand-mile starefixed on the departure of a shade:and the moment the crow returns to its nest—worn-out, bearingsorrow to those… More
“Abandoned House” and “Premonition”
Abandoned HouseThere, the steps are deep purpleThere the plants are red sunbirdsThere the stones have grown human facesI often pass byAssuming various anxious posturesFor I’ve always been feeble at… More
Writer and Human Rights Lawyer Detained
On December 24, 2009, human rights lawyer, writer and PEN Turkey member Muharrem Erbey was arrested in Diyabakir, southeastern Turkey. Two weeks later, he remains in prison awaiting trial. More
The Museum of Eterna’s Novel (The First Good Novel)
Dedication To My Character EternaIn Eterna I have known the maximum impulse to piety without vice, nothing confused or demented in the act of abnegation and mercy. Nothing that… More
PEN Appeal: Muharrem Erbey
January 29, 2010 Mr. Sadullah Ergin Minister of Justice 06669 Kizil Ankara, Turkey Fax: 00 90 312 419 3370 Your Excellency, On behalf of the 3,400 members… More
Conversation: Anthea Bell & Doris Orgel
April 7 Dear Anthea, much admired fellow translator,Given your vast output, I’ve fantasized that there must be at least a dozen of you, all busily working on many varied, often… More
Chinese Writer Liao Yiwu Prevented From Traveling to German Book Festival
PEN American Center today expressed outrage that writer Liao Yiwu was removed from a plane he had boarded in Chengdu, southwestern China, to travel to a literature festival in… More
Prominent Dissident Writer Likely to Be Prosecuted Soon
One year after the arrest of prominent dissident writer Liu Xiaobo, former President and Board member of Independent Chinese PEN Center, his case has been transferred to the Beijing… More
International Pen Condemns Attack in Ampatuan
International PEN joins the international community in condemning the politically motivated attack in the Philippines on November 23, 2009, in which at least 17 journalists were killed. More
Splendid Conspiracy
Whenever he looked back on the episode, Imtaz couldn’t help reliving all the ghastliness of that moment when, clasping his co-star in a fiery embrace, he had realized his… More