Sentencing of Poet Wang Zang and His Wife to Prison in China Shows “Repressive Environment” for Free Expression, as PEN America Calls For Their Release
“We condemn the sentencing of Wang Zang for exercising his freedom to write, and of his wife Wang Liqin whose only apparent ‘crime’ was advocating for her husband’s rights,”… More
Grave Concern for Poet Zhang Guiqi, Sentenced to Six Years in Prison, for Calling on Xi Jinping to Step Down
PEN America and the Independent Chinese PEN Centre condemn the conviction of poet Zhang Guiqi and calls for his immediate release. More
China: PEN Centers Call for Xu Zhiyong’s Immediate Release
PEN America, PEN International, and the Independent Chinese PEN Center (ICPC) call on the Chinese government release Xu Zhiyong. More
PEN America Reacts with Alarm to News of Intimidation of Chinese Dissidents in U.S.
Human rights groups and expert commentators have increasingly warned that authoritarian governments, with China as a prominent example, have increasingly rolled out new and expanded tactics of trans-national repression.… More
The PEN Pod: A Reflection on Free Speech in 2021 with Suzanne Nossel
“Perhaps never before in our public discourse. . . has there been a moment where issues of free expression. . . have been more salient to our politics.” More
The PEN Pod: On Self-Censorship, Book Bans, and Biden’s Virtual Democracy Summit
“Students are really crucial allies. They have, I think, an instinctive sense of not wanting to be told what they can and can’t read.” More
The PEN Pod: On Peng Shuai, Critical Race Theory Taboos, and Simpsons Censorship
“It’s just this very palpable way in which the pressure is being felt at every level. . . from top administrators to individual professors who are being put under… More
The PEN Pod: On The University of Austin, Myanmar, and China
“We’re extremely happy for Danny Fenster. . . but I think the real question is, do we see any loosening vis-à-vis the free expression of Myanmar’s own reporters and… More
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We made the news! Thanks to everyone who came out yesterday for #LetUtahRead #utpol: https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/utahns-gather-to-read-in-protest-against-banning-books-at-the-capitol
The chilling of schools in Florida is hitting new lows-- some teachers told not to have *books* in their classrooms. Said one: “It feels cold without all my books. It doesn’t feel like the classroom and the environment that I built.” #FreeTheBooks
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ron-desantis-book-bans-florida-b2270116.html
As India celebrates #RepublicDay, read this collection by prominent writers on the promises embodied in the Indian Constitution, and some of the current threats to the upholding of these rights. https://pen.org/india-at-75/ #IndiaAt75