Description

This collection of writing from prison, including autobiography, letters and poems, will include pieces by Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy currently under ‘protective custody’ in Myanmar, and Orhan Pamuk, who was arrested for a comment published in a Swiss newspaper earlier this year; and an extract from the last (unpublished) work of the Nigerian dissident Ken Saro-Wiwa, which he wrote a week before his execution in 1995. Shedding much-needed light on the world’s darkest regimes, other unpublished work gives accounts of life in countries from Syria and Saudi Arabia to Cuba and Cameroon. And to reflect truthfully the work that PEN’s Writers in Prison Committee undertakes today, the anthology will also feature writing from those who have suffered for new forms of communication – for example, those punished by restrictive regimes in countries such as China and for cyberdissent, the new samizdat, on the internet. Visit the PEN website Listen to readings from the event at the National Theatre, lead by Michael Palin.