At our recent Human Rights Day event, PEN Perth Member Frances An read a touching letter to journalist Đoan Trang Phạm. PEN Perth is proud to publish the letter here, written and translated by Frances An.
Author Archives: penperth
Sudan Reading
On Tuesday 23 November PEN Perth held a reading to protest the military coup which took place on 25 October in Sudan. Read the summary and two featured poems here.
Nobel Peace Prize 2021
Maria Ressa shares this year’s Nobel Peace Prize with fellow journalist, Dimitri Muratov from Russia. Ressa, notably, is the first Filipino Nobel Laureate.
Writers in Prison Committee Meeting
On 14 September, representatives from over 60 PEN Centres convened for its annual Writers in Prison Committee (WIPC) meeting. The meeting drew attention to the critical situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban’s recent takeover means that Afghan writers, activists, and cultural practitioners—especially women—face imminent danger.
Securing Writers’ Rights
As in previous years, PEN International held pre-conference discussions for its main committees, including the Writers for Peace Committee and the Linguistic Rights Committee, which I was able to attend via Zoom, albeit at an unusual hour as the conference ran on London time.
Report on the PEN International World Congress 2021
The Centenary World Congress of PEN was held via Zoom from 20-24 September, with the four Committee meetings held in the previous week. The Congress held some fascinating panel discussions on issues related to freedom of expression with participants such as Margaret Atwood and Salman Rushdie, as well as talks by John Ralston Saul, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Ma Thida and others.
2021 AGM Minutes
The third Annual General Meeting of PEN Perth was held on 26 August at the Centre for Stories. A new committee was elected, with Rania Ghandour and Rita Saggar joining and Robert Wood standing down.
PEN Perth Chair Report 2020-2021
My Chair’s report for the year 2020-2021 is a little different. That is for two reasons, the first being organisational as it is the 100 year celebration of our international community, and the second being personal, because it is my final report as Chair.
Writers in Prison Report (2021)
The Asia-Pacific features the highest number of cases of writers who have been harassed, on trial, imprisoned, or killed with impunity in the recent 2020 PEN International Case List.
The Case of the Australian Writer in Chinese Prison
It might surprise many of out readers to learn that an Australian writer, blogger and academic, has been held in China since January 2019, charged with espionage, and pronounced guilty after a brief and perfunctory trial in a closed courtroom.
2021 Chair’s Reflection
As you all know, PEN Perth exists to support and strengthen the responsible freedom of expression. In the current historical moment, that matters more than ever.
Spotlight on Myanmar
Myanmar’s plight is the most brutal in recent memory. The military has committed mass atrocities against civilians since February. Over 4000 arrests and 800 deaths have been reported (Association of Political Prisoners, 2021). The United Nations estimates that over 6 million people are in urgent need of food aid. This crisis has further exacerbated the systematic dismantling of free expression. […]
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