NEW PEN America Report: Digital Censorship and Threats to Creative Expression Rise Against Artists in Asia
“In the last two years, we have witnessed a steady rise in threats and persecution of artists across Asia, a trend where governments are deliberately targeting and silencing cultural… More
Secret Military Executions of Four Pro-Democracy Myanmar Activists a “Devastating Act of Brutality”
Liesl Gerntholz, director of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center, said: “This is an unspeakable act of brutality, an abhorrent act. We join their families and the people of… More
Zehra Doğan | Status: In Exile | Turkey
Zehra Doğan, a Turkish journalist and artist, was sentenced on March 24, 2017 to two years and ten months in prison for creating a painting of a Turkish city… More
Mehdi and Hossein Rajabian | Status: Conditional Release | Iran
Iranian musician Mehdi Rajabian and his brother, writer and filmmaker Hossein Rajabian, are currently serving three-year prison sentences on charges of “insulting Islamic sanctities,” “propaganda against the state,” and… More
June Featured Case: Mehdi and Hossein Rajabian
Iranian filmmakers Mehdi and Hossein Rajabian were arrested in October 2013 in connection with an underground music-sharing site they cofounded. During a three-minute trial, they were fined $6000 and… More
May Featured Case: Artists Under Threat in Turkey
In the face of censorship, persecution, imprisonment, and a recent referendum that will inevitably usher in alarming new restrictions, these Turkish artists courageously refuse to quiet their creative expression. More
Immigration Ban Will Have Lasting Impact on Art and Global Politics
President Donald Trump’s Executive Order restricting travel and immigration has severely affected artistic expression, and may do so for years to come. More
Cutting Off Culture: Immigration Ban Thwarts Artistic Exchange
President Trump’s hasty and malign January 27 Executive Order barring immigration from seven countries, blocking the entry of all refugees, and cutting off all migration from Syria to the… More
Alert Us
Are you an artist at risk or know someone who is?
PEN America On 
Outstanding piece by @andreacgore, Vacek Chair in pharmacology/professor of psychology at UT-Austin, defending faculty tenure against SB 18. She argues that immunotherapy would not exist if UT-Austin had not given tenure to its discoverer. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/university-texas-andrea-gore-professor-tenure-17816783.php
What does academic freedom mean now, and how might it change?
Here's our whole Future Trends Forum conversation with @ACEducation and @PENamerica researchers:
https://youtu.be/nQ8Kl0XJIr0
#FTTE
HT @roxannriskin
#RIP John Woods, Masterly Translator of Thomas Mann, Dies at 80
Woods was the recipient of two PEN America Translation awards, in 1981 and 1987
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/24/books/john-woods-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=l2BVLYlz1s2E6Jj-w9wuXxKMTrTuFBKAH_pxlFgj6UEgFGD3vXQEOhqVwAotjPgykwJC-NhRHTc5-9HCQpBJ4yCNKDEooSFdgI6YQ4a9jdbpoPHeyPNLmgfBztwRbWC58GKq28Mead5bbyfKdteJHA0U2HesfQmTk5oTWjVYmgkTVxpPk0C-yonoUK3gW-idLUAeR8IOWNJ8MWWrZ_AiPOM1ch59MnKrZQ7OrwHqp19CWMAfxGG_i9SN1tjir2DlKiTzk25A2lh-mrSvY9Zv0Stx14hmNsu87Ls_D0VUR-_qe0NDRb_UA23pztFUks7V7OeL0O6mpw&smid=url-share