07 April 2009 |
SYDNEY PEN CENTRE NEWS |
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Take action on behalf of detained writers!
• Sydney PEN makes leading Burmese poet and comedian Zargana an Honorary member
• SRI LANKA: Newspaper editor arrested and ill-treated
• Inspiring message sent from prison by Teresa Toda
• How you can help: Visit our website for current campaigns and join our global network of volunteer letter writers
• Call for PEN volunteers at Sydney Writers Festival
• Sydney PEN Voices 2009 Series announced : Malcolm Knox speaks on HONOUR; Sydney April 29, Canberra April 30
• Julie Rose: the Art of Translation |
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INTERNATIONAL PEN NEWS |
• International PEN Writers in Prison Committee Caselist July-December 2008 Now Available |
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OTHER NEWS & EVENTS |
• Ratbags’ Afternoon Tea, Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Dorothy Hewitt’s The Man from Mukinupin, Saturday 11 April 5pm Belvoir St Theatre
• Australian writers, activism and public debate, panel discussion and launch of Literary Activists Saturday 9 May at gleebooks
• Blake Poetry Prize
• PressPress Chapbook Award 2009
• Australian Unity Bryan Kelleher literary award celebrating Australian bush poetry |
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SYDNEY PEN CENTRE NEWS |
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Sydney PEN makes leading Burmese poet and comedian Zargana an Honorary member
 The fifty-nine year prison sentence handed down to leading comedian and poet Zargana has been commuted by twenty-four years. Zargana was arrested on the evening of 4 June 2008 after leading a private relief effort to deliver aid to victims of Cyclone Nargis which struck in May 2008. He is believed to be sentenced for his outspoken criticism of the government’s slow response to the cyclone, and his opposition activities. Sydney PEN had just learned that Zargana’s mother, his only surviving relative in Burma, has recently passed away. We will keep members and supporters informed about the joint advocacy campaign being mounted for Zargana. He must now serve thirty-five years in prison for his peaceful opposition activities and criticism of the government.
Read more and take action...
Read Sydney PEN's letters: 1, 2, 3 (MSWord .doc files)
Send your letters to:
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The Hon. Stephen Smith
Minister for Foreign Affairs
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600 |
Ms Michelle Chan, Ambassador
Rangoon, Burma
C/- DFAT
Locked Bag 40
Kingston ACT 2604 |
Myanmar’s Ambassador to Australia
Embassy of the Union of Myanmar
22 Arkana Street
Yarralumla ACT 2600 |
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Making writers in prison from around the world Honorary Members of International PEN and its centres is one of our most successful strategies for raising these writers' profile, and in some cases, winning their release. Find out who are our Honorary Members, how successful our campaigns are and what you can do
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4 March SRI LANKA: Newspaper Editor Arrested and Ill-treated
Nadesapillai Vithyatharan was arrested on February 26 under emergency legislation, apparently for his reporting. International PEN is also disturbed by reports that he was ill-treated in custody after his arrest, and seeks assurances of his well-being as a matter of urgency. Read more and take action ... Read Sydney PEN's letter.
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Inspiring message sent from prison by Teresa Toda
We would like to share with PEN members an inspiring message sent from prison by Teresa Toda, a member of Basque PEN who is serving a ten year prison sentence for 'co-operating with an armed organisation'.
At the end of every year, PEN members send seasons' greetings to fellow writers and journalists imprisoned around the world, expressing their solidarity and wishes for the New Year. We often hear from recipients of the cards, such as Teresa Toda, of the important role they play in raising spirits and linking the prisoners to the writers world-wide.
Teresa Toda is a journalist, former sub-editor for 'Egin', and Basque PEN member. She was accused of cooperating with Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), for which she was sentenced on 19 December 2007. She is known for her anti-Franco and left wing activism for which she was expelled from university and it is thought that her imprisonment is linked to her non violent political activities.
The message reads:
Dear PEN Club friends
Have been truly moved for all the cards I have received over X-mas from writers (and, from now on, friends!) from the UK, the USA and Australia, sending a tender message of solidarity and good wishes. I would have liked to reply to each and everyone of you, but I am only allowed to write two letters weekly, so it becomes quite impossible. Therefore, I trust my gratitude will reach you all on the internet.
You really cannot imagine the value of a few words, a few lines, written on lovely, pretty cards! They bring us imprisoned writers echoes of freedom, they help us our spirits high in face of our troubles and they show our gaolers that they can not cut us off from the outside world nor fully hide the injustice of our situation and the attacks on liberty of expression and opinion.
Thus, keep it up! PEN Club members' work is important on an international level, very important, but also on a person-to-person level, keeping up the links with those writers cut off from their chosen profession and tasks by unjust rulings.
 I hope my warmest gratitude will reach you all, as well as my best wishes for 2009!
Teresa Toda, Basque PEN writer in prison.
My direct address is:
Teresa Toda
CP M.8
37799 Topas, Salamanca, Spain
and, as you can see, I speak, read and write English. |
How you can help: Visit our website for current campaigns and join our global network of volunteer letter writers, internationally celebrated writers and supporters; host a letter-writing session at your home or business. Please contact us to sign up or register your interest: sydney@pen.org.au
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Call for PEN volunteers at the Sydney Writers’ Festival
We need volunteers to help with our letters campaign during the Sydney Writers’ Festival,
May 18-24 – please contact our office if you’d like to help: sydney@pen.org.au |
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EVENTS |
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Sydney PEN Voices 2009 Series Announced
 Sydney PEN commissions three talented Australian writers to each write an essay and deliver a lecture on a big issue facing contemporary Australia. Following the success of the 2007 & 2008 series, we are pleased to announce that this year’s lecture series will feature Malcolm Knox (pictured) on HONOUR (Sydney April 29, Canberra April 30), Max Barry on RISK (Sydney July 15, Canberra July 21), and Larissa Behrendt on LEGACY (Sydney November 18, Canberra November 24).
Join Walkley award-winning journalist and novelist Malcolm Knox (Jamaica, Scattered, Secrets of the Jury Room, A Private Man) for a provocative exploration of honour in contemporary life. The lecture will pose questions about the incentive for behaving with honour towards others. Why not lie and cheat? Why, post-God and post-modernity, should one act with integrity? How can we move towards a rejuvenated code in an age when honour seems obsolete? The lecture will be followed in Sydney on April 29 by a conversation with Lucinda Holdforth, author of Why Manners Matter: The Case for Civilised Behaviour in a Barbarous World, and in Canberra on April 30 by ABC Radio morning broadcaster, Alex Sloan.
Bookings now open!
More ...
Julie Rose: the Art of Translation
 Friday May 15, 6.30 for 7pm
gleebooks, 49 Glebe Pt. Rd., Glebe
Presented by AALITRA (Australian Association for Literary Translation), Sydney PEN and gleebooks
Julie Rose in conversation with Evelyn Juers, with an introduction by Brian Nelson
In this special event translator Julie Rose will be speaking about her work with Evelyn Juers, a German translator and author of the recently published House of Exile. This event will be of interest to anyone who enjoys international literature and wants to know more about the art of translation.
Julie Rose is a world-renowned translator of major French thinkers such as Paul Virilio. Her most recent work includes a new translation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables (New York, London: Random House, 2008), Catherine Rey's Stepping Out (Sydney: Giramondo, 2008) and Letter to D. by André Gorz (Sydney: HarperCollins, 2008; New York, Cambridge: Polity, 2009).
A full-time freelance translator, Julie lives in her hometown of Sydney with her husband, dog and two cats. After years of enjoying a fine 'international reputation', she is now being published in Australia.
 Reviews of her translation of Les Misérables:
- This new translation marvelously removes the yellowed varnish from Hugo's prose and gives us the racy, breathless and passionate intelligence of the original - Adam Gopnik
- Rich and gorgeous. This is the one to read - Jeanette Winterson
- Here, at long last, is a new translation... of Hugo's behemoth classic that is as racy and current and utterly arresting as it should be - The Buffalo News
- This is a lively, dramatic and wonderfully readable translation of one of the greatest 19th century novel - Alison Lurie
- A triumph - Brian Nelson
Brian Nelson is Professor of French Studies at Monash University, Editor of the Australian Journal of French Studies, and President of AALITRA (the Australian Association for Literary Translation). He is himself a practising translator, having translated several novels by Emile Zola for Oxford World's Classics.
Cost: $10/$7 concession and PEN & AALITRA members
Bookings: gleebooks 9660 2333 or www.gleebooks.com.au/events
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INTERNATIONAL PEN NEWS |
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International PEN Writers in Prison Committee Caselist July-December 2008
Now Available - Click here to download
Visit International PEN's website:
http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/ for the latest news and participate in PEN campaigns around the world. |
OTHER NEWS & EVENTS |
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 Ratbags’ Afternoon Tea, Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Dorothy Hewitt’s The Man from Mukinupin, Saturday 11 April 5pm Belvoir St Theatre
Join Sydney PEN member Merv Lilley – Dorothy’s husband, some of her family and friends, and members of the cast for some arvo tea and some very special readings in the Belvoir St Theatre foyer. To take advantage of this special event and the one-off weekend ticket prices (Adult tickets only $46, normally $56, from 10-12 April), please call the Company B Box Office on (02) 9699 3444 and quote ‘Clemmy’. Details and bookings for other sessions: www.belvoir.com.au/mukinupin
Click here to download flyer (1.3Mb PDF)
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Australian writers, activism and public debate, panel discussion and launch of Literary Activists Saturday 9 May at gleebooks, 4 for 4.30pm FREE, bookings essential
Join author Brigid Rooney in conversation with Nicholas Jose, Rosie Scott and Wendy Bacon in discussing ‘What role do literary writers play in Australia’s public sphere?’ Click here for details and bookings.
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Blake Poetry Prize
The NSW Writers’ Centre is pleased to be co-hosting the Blake Poetry Prize again this year, with the theme ‘Exploring the religious and spiritual through poetry’. The Centre runs the prize in partnership with the Blake Society, which also awards the prestigious Blake Prize for Religious Art, where artists explore the religious and spiritual in art. The prize of $5,000 has been made possible through the generosity of Leichhardt Municipal Council. The new closing date is Friday 12 June 2009. For details and entry form: www.nswwriterscentre.org.au
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PressPress Chapbook Award 2009
The Award is for an unpublished chapbook length manuscript of poems. The winning manuscript will receive $500 and chapbook publication with PressPress. The closing date is 31 May 2009. Details and entry form: www.presspress.com.au
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Australian Unity Bryan Kelleher literary award celebrating Australian bush poetry
Australian Unity in association with the Australian Native’s Association and the Henry Lawson Memorial and Literary Society invites submissions of original bush poetry. First prize $1000. Entries close 30 June 2009. Entry forms and additional information: www.australianunity.com.au/literaryaward or call (03) 8682 6778. |
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Join PEN and/or Make a Tax Deductible Donation
Sydney PEN (founded in 1931), an affiliate of International PEN, is an association of writers devoted to freedom of expression in Australia and in the world at large. In accordance with the PEN Charter it uses its influence on behalf of writers anywhere who are silenced by persecution, exile or imprisonment and acts as an authoritative source on matters of free expression. Through a range of community activities it promotes the written word in all its forms as a way to understanding and the free transmission of ideas.
David Malouf, a member of Sydney PEN’s writer’s advisory panel, explains why he supports PEN: ‘As a writer who has the freedom to write without fear or constraint, and for whom silence is a choice, I would feel ashamed if I did not speak up for a writer anywhere on whom silence is enforced with all the terrible machinery of the state.’
PEN is more than a good idea; it deserves your action and ongoing support. You can actually make a difference by supporting the writers equipped to speak out through words and in print. Take action today and become a PEN supporter. |
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Sydney PEN would like to thank its major sponsors, the UTS Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences at the University of Technology, Sydney, and the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL).
Sydney PEN (International PEN Sydney Centre Inc.)
14A Lonsdale Close, Lake Haven NSW 2263
Ph: 1300 364 997 Fax: 02 4392 9410
Email: sydney@pen.org.au
Online: www.pen.org.au
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