Forbidden Chirping

After all, our prime minister has been complaining about this so-called art for a long time. Art is beautiful and esthetic, it’s pleasant to the eye and ear, it… More

The Library in the Torture Center

Many of the countries represented in this year's FIFA World Cup—including finalist Argentina—have less than impressive track records when it comes to free speech. Martin Ezpeleta visits the Library… More

Russia in Between Security and Democracy

The book market is not noticeably being censored. What is evident, however, is that innovative and controversial literature is being plucked out of the canon (thereby causing it to… More

Egypt: The Fanatic Heart

It occurred to me that what I needed was to know all I could find about the word “fanaticism,” in a capsule. Lately, I find myself resorting more and… More

Sierra Leone: Reading Yourself—And The Other

The right to freedom of expression is inextricably linked to the right to education, quality education—a commodity still in short supply in many developing countries, including Sierra Leone. More

Syria: What Does it Mean to be a Syrian Poet Today?

Ghost towns, devastated forests, fire-ravaged fruit groves, refugees in their millions, deaths in their hundreds of thousands, a raging war and a future without prospects. This, in a nutshell,… More