Source: American PEN

Translation

Hsia Yü: Four Poems from Salsa

September 23, 2011 | PEN American Steve Bradbury is the recipient of a 2011 PEN Translation Fund grant for his translation of Hsia Yü’s collection of poetry Salsa. Read an excerpt from the translation below.

The Ripest Rankest Juiciest Summer Ever
Summer sinks into the clock-face of the cat’s eye
Sinks into chestnut colored limbs
A 17 franc basket of peaches
Day four and already summer has run from ripe to rank
All spring long we dined as if we had all the time in the world
Followed with interest the color, light and atmosphere
Observed the shadows of the grapevines advancing to this
Last evening of the postimpressionists
Dabs of light thicken on the hammock
Grow thin on the windblown curtain
Each stroke acquiring definition
Until the last stroke added bursts grape skin
Must be August
Ripe for the Fauvists
Never again will mere light so delight us
And O how we weary of atmosphere
Our idle conversation spreads like vines in the arbor
Of this ripest rankest juiciest summer ever
And O how we weary of style
Does style after all exist
So like the snow
Defiled at the merest touch
But while the snow does not exist
The hammock is more manifest than ever
More than April irises or an aperitif at six
Though compared to soccer broadcast live hardly anything exists
Our guest, an enthusiast of “Old Cathay,” asserts that in our fallen day
Only armed revolution poses such tragic implications
And then there is soccer
O how we dine as if we had all the time in the world
Smoked salmon, crab and lobster
And will you look at the size of this oyster
If we could but find the proper venues
To release our leftist tendencies
1906, Cezanne, caught in a storm, returns to his studio
Removes his hat and coat and collapses by the arbor window
Taking stock of the table, its overturned basket of apples, he notices
The “appleness of the apples” and their shadows, the three skulls
The wardrobe, the pitcher, the crock
The half-opened drawer, the clock
It occurs to him proportion is hardly worth the fuss
And could care even less if the table were bevel or not
As he closes his eyes and dies
His eyelids trace a line pointing straight to three o’clock
Still, there is something wanting in all this
Must be time for Matisse

Tied Up and Waiting
Use your psychic power to bend mental
Use your psychic power to stop the hands of the clock
Use your psychic power to flick the switch
I can smell you in my skin
I can smell you in my skin
I can smell you in my skin
I am experiencing what is more what is more I am experiencing the experience
As for the rest
Let me carve it word by word on a single grain of rice
As for the rest
Let me carve it character by character on that strand of hair
As for the rest
I brought the ransom to the agreed upon location
I came at the appointed time
But the kidnapper never showed his face
He’s always so hesitant
I can’t understand this vacillation
I never notified the police
I don’t even know the person he’s holding
I too have been lured by the graceful style of being taken
By this business of being tied up and waiting

Psychic Seductions
Took forever to write back
And used “we” instead of “me”
“We’ve been sleeping around a bit
But it hardly seems a crime
When everyone we know is climbing into bed with everybody else
Becoming good friends in the bargain.”
If we haven’t been exactly seized by inspiration
We’re conscience nonetheless of a certain
Cut-rate terror in those piles of smelly clothes
In the locker room at the gym
Or whiling away the hours at the laundromat
Waiting for the dirty linen
To finish washing
What exactly do critics mean when they say
“More individualized”?
As if I could ever get myself on “The
Find Your Long-Lost Mother Show’’
On cable TV in
Principal I don’t approve of private beaches but
If you’re looking for a good frisson
You can always count on me for a front-row seat
Provided you can walk off and forsake it
For the sake of making it more formalistic
More worthy of saying:
“It’s not meaning I object to
But the meaning of meaning.”
When you open up a coin laundry you have to visualize
The enterprise on the basis of the needs of the general public
Thus encouraging a keen appreciation of those ordinary
But universal forms of suffering and affliction
We rarely mention it
But in the ebb and flow of things
Those psychic seductions we believe in
When the ambience is right
Do in fact happen
In laundromats
Now and then they throw on something classical
Just to muddle through

Those Gloriously Sinful Days of Old
God made the heaven and the earth and on the seventh day
Languid and no longer loving we drifted into the forest
Existence was so brimful after the rain
Porcini were growing in the horse manure
And so we scoured the forest floor in search of more
And when we’d found some we took them home
And washed them off and soaked them till they were soft and tender
And braised them over a gentle flame until the juices ran
And simmered them in butter
Garlic and parsley
Then garnished them with toasted cheese
And slivers of prosciutto
And for a moment the ambience belonged to those gloriously
Sinful days of old psychodramas we sank into like so many sofa
Chairs draped in lacework flower-fringed and yellowed with age
The hodgepodge of scandalously
Perverse eccentricities we tended to keep bottled up
And so we decanted an ’87 Bordeaux a cappella
But then the complicity of this too came to light and we
Fell out of touch but not before we’d taken some portion of
Each other’s eccentricities that serve us now in lieu
Of a tacit understanding

Test Your Literary Wits; Visit PEN at Brooklyn Book Festival

Test Your Literary Wits; Visit PEN at Brooklyn Book Festival

SAVE THE DATE October 12: PEN Literary Awards Ceremony November 1: PEN New Members/New Books Party NOTE: To unsubscribe from our mailing list, please use the orange links at the bottom of this newsletter. For any other issues, please contact us here. PEN Literary Pub Quiz at Brooklyn Book Festival   When: Tonight Where: St. Ann’s Warehouse, 38 Water Street in Dumbo, Brooklyn What time: 7–9 p.m. Team captains include Gabe Boylan of Harper’s, George Prochnik of Cabinet Magazine, James Yeh of Gigantic Magazine, Scott Lindenbaum and Andy Hunter of Electric Literature, translator Susan Bernofsky, Ben Greenman, Matthea Harvey, Amy Sohn, and more; hosted by Katie Halper. Free and open to the public. PEN American Center is pleased to announce the return of our popular Literary Pub Quiz! This Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend event gives you the chance to compete with (and against!) editors and writers from your favorite literary magazines, including Cabinet, Gigantic, Harper’s, and Electric Literature, as well as writers Matthea Harvey, Ben Greenman, and many more. Come early to reserve your spot on the team with the writer-captain who also knows where Hemingway was born. We’ll supply the paper and the pencils; you bring the literary smarts! Of course, don’t forget to stop by the PEN booth (#93) on Sunday to say hello. PEN American Center | 588 Broadway, Suite 303 | NY, NY 10012 | (212) 334-1660

PEN News: September 21, 2011‏

PEN News: September 21, 2011‏

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS In honor of Banned Books Week, we are asking PEN Members to recommend a single banned or challenged book and to tell us how that book has influenced them as writers and readers. [More] SAVE THE DATE September 26: The PEN Women’s Literary Workshop hosts its annual reading and celebration from 6–8:30 p.m. next Monday in the PEN office (address below). The Workshop is accepting new members. Contact Ilsa Gilbert at (212) 242-1641 for more details. November 1: The PEN New Members/New Books Party celebrates new Members and honors those who have had new books published in 2011. [More] BECOME A MEMBER Please help us spread the word: writers can now apply for PEN Membership after the publication of their first book or production of one dramatic work in a professional setting. [Apply for Membership] NOTE: To unsubscribe from our mailing list, please use the links at the bottom of this newsletter. For any other issues, please contact us here.

PEN LITERARY AWARDS Apply to PEN’s 2012 Awards As we celebrate the recipients of PEN’s 2011 Literary Awards, the submissions period for the 2012 Awards is now opening. Beginning October 1, you may nominate colleagues for career awards and submit for PEN’s other awards. For a full list of 2012 Awards and guidelines, visit PEN.org. [More] ADVOCACY Celebrate Banned Books Week Banned Books Week highlights the necessity of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the dangers of censorship. We’ve listed just a few ways for you to get involved. [More] PEN Welcomes First Freedom to Write Fellow Deji Olukotun, a lawyer and writer with extensive international development and advocacy experience, begins a new Ford Foundation–sponsored 18-month fellowship in PEN’s Freedom to Write Program. Olukotun will concentrate on expanding partnerships with PEN centers in countries with acute free expression challenges. [More] THE DAILY PEN AMERICAN Recently at The Daily PEN American: an excerpt and interview with Liao Yiwu, new poetry by Jeffrey Yang, student work from the PEN Readers & Writers Summer Writing Institute, and a story by Annie Proulx. Coming up: readings and talks with Cave Canem poets Giovanni Singleton and Kevin Simmonds and west coast poet Gabrielle Calvocoressi, new poetry by John Yau, work from this year’s Translation Fund grant recipients, and excerpts from the 2011 PEN Literary Awards winners. Liao Yiwu Makes First U.S. Appearance Last week, PEN and The New School welcomed exiled Chinese writer Liao Yiwu in his first visit to the United States In addition to performances and readings of his work, Liao spoke with Philip Gourevitch about his journey from political prisoner to best-selling author. [More] Literary Pub Quiz and Brooklyn Book Festival Wrap Up Last Friday’s Literary Pub Quiz brought together writers, editors, and local book lovers for a battle of wits. PEN kept the questions going on Sunday at the Brooklyn Book Festival with our Literary Loves survey. Thanks to everyone who participated. [More] Susan Bernofsky: Fast Talkers In her first guest-post for The Daily PEN American, translator Susan Bernofsky looks at “information density” and why speakers of certain languages seem to talk faster than others. [More] Zhou Qing: What Kind of God Zhou Qing, author of What Kind of God: A Survey of the Current Safety of China’s Food, recently visited the PEN office from Germany to speak with us about censorship and human rights issues in China. [More] Read Work by Translation Fund Grant Recipients Over the coming weeks, we will be posting excerpts and essays from winners of 2011 PEN Translation Fund grants. The first is from Clarissa Botsford’s translation of Elvira Dones’s novel Sworn Virgin, the story of an Albanian immigrant who must reclaim her womanhood after living for 14 years as a man. [More]

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Demand the immediate and unconditional release of an Iranian poet Faranak Farid

In support of Faranak farid

The following delegates of the 77th International PEN congress in Belgrade, Serbia, 12-18 September 2011, demand the immediate and unconditional release of Faranak Farid, Iranian poet, translator and women´s rights activist.


According to PEN´s information, Faranak farid was arrested on 3 September 2011on the street in the city of Tabriz, Azerbaijan, Iran. Security forces later went to search her house and seized her computer and personal documents. Farid is thought to be held for her writings, tranlations, speeches and defence of women´s rights, and for the participation in a peaceful protest against the environmental policies of the Iranian authorities affecting Urmiah Lake in Azerbaijan, Iran. Faranak Farid is currently detained without charge. She is at risk of illtreatment in detention, and concerns for her welfare are mounting.

Faranak Farid (aka Ipek) is a leading writer, editor and women´s rights activist. Her publications include the poetry collection Yuxuda Ayilmaq, published in 2009. Another poetry collection Jiziq is under publication. She is a founding member of the One Million Signature Campaign, and has participated in numerous conferences and seminars both inside and ouside Iran.

Undersigned:

John Ralston Saul, President, PEN International

Botsford Fraser,Marian. Chair WIPC, PEN International

Schoulgin, Eugene, Vice President, PEN International

Kathman, Lucina. Vice President, PEN International

Lax, Eric, Treasurer, PEN International

Yang Lian, PEN International

Ikonya, Philo, PEN International

Arpa, Yasmin. Turkey

Magani, Mohammad, Algeria

Siems, larry, America

Niederle, Helmut, Austria

Karim, Abdul, Bangladesh

Mintegi, Laura, Basque

Radeljkovic, Zvonimir, Bosnia- Herzegovina

Durakovic, Ferida, Bosnia- Herzegovina

Aguiar, Claudio, Brazil

Costa Jungenia, Maria Cecilia, Brazil

Konstantinov, Georgi, Bulgaria

Foran, Charlie, Canada

Arenas, Carme, Catalan

Cacinovic, Nadezda, Croatian

Cudara, Angel, Cuba

Lacarda, Luis Ignacio

Marangou, Niki, Cypres

Dedecek, Jiri, Czech

Larsen, Niels Ivar, Denmark

Lohman, Jens, Denmark

Farag, Hala, Egypt

Madeha, Abu Ziad, Egypt

Seymour- Jones, Carole, England

Heawood, Jonathan, England

Lawson, Sarah, England

Martinov, Zlatoje, Esperanto PEN

Macconi, Chiara, Esperanto PEN

Kaldmaa, Katlin, Esperanto PEN

Kotjuh, Igor, Estonia

Tontti, Jarkko, Finland

Nummi, Markus, Finland

Clancier, Sylvestre, France

Pujas, Philippe, France

Rocquigny, Fanny, France

Pellas, Jackie, France

Gonzales, Tosar Luis, Galician

Wiesner, Herbert, Germany

Strasser, Johano, German

Oeser, Hans Christian, Germany

Harruna, Attah Abdulrahman, Ghana

Martin-Liao Tienchi, Independent Chinese PEN

Boland, Kay, Ireland

Mannacio, Giorgio, Italy

Jiro, Asada, Japan

Ayako, Sato, Japan

Pessemesse, Pierre, Occitan PEN

Kim Kyung Sik, Korea

Song, Young Wook, Korea

Kapriqi, Basri, Kosova

Hejab, Abdollah, Kurdish PEN

Dosky, Berivan, Kurdish PEN

Kuncius, Herkus, Lithuania

Dzeparoski, Ivan, Macedonia

Mphasi, Feggie Tiwonge, Malawia

Rodriguez, Judith, Australia

Bojang, Seedy, Australia

Ciobanu, Vitalie, Moldavia

Garnet, Vasile, Moldavia

Panday, Ram Kumar, Nepal

Raj, Prakash, Nepal

Upphoff, Manon, Netherland

Appel, Rene, Netherland

Wattie, Nelson, New Zealand

Heger, Anders, Norway

Eide, Elisabeth, Norway

Pellerin, Gilles, Canada

Carneci, Magda, Canada

Simonov, Alexey, Russia

Cracknell, Linda, Scottish PEN

Campbell, Drew, Scottish PEN

Gueye, Silarneyni, Senegal

Paunovic, Zoran, Serbia

Bajac, Vladislav, Serbia

Murin, Gustav, Slovak

Persak, Tone, Slovania

Wehelie, Amina Mussa, Somali Speaking writers

Orford, Margaret, South Africa

Mahloujian, Azar, Sweden

Larsmo, Ola, Sweden

Tornquist, Annika, Sweden

Baghlaninan, Elnaz, Sweden

Schnider, Christin, Switzerland

Ergas, Zeki, Switzerland

Hoang Bao, Viet, Switzerland

Assaad, Fawzia, switzerland

Kunthar, Tibet

Della, Rocca, Tibet

Bensedrine, Sihem, Tunisia

Gunersal, Tarik, Turkey

Kaiser, Oz Hun, Uyghur PEN

Khamrayev, Khamitzhan, Uyghur PEN

Yen, Son, Vietnam

Roelens, Xavier, Belgieum

Vermeersch, Peter, Belgieum

Chipopu, Morgan, Zambia

Lukorito Wanjala, Chris, Kenya


Source:

Azar Mahloujian in facebook

PEN International recognises achievement of 2010 Nobel Laureates at global gathering of world writers

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
14th September 2011
Hundreds of writers, editors, translators and publishers from across the globe celebrate the achievement of 2010 Nobel Prizes by Mario Vargas Llosa and Liu Xiaobo and call for the release of Xiaobo and his wife.
At PEN International's 77th annual Congress in Belgrade today, delegates from over 80 PEN Centres worldwide unanimously passed a motion to congratulate Mario Vargas Llosa, former PEN International President and 2010 Nobel Laureate for Literature, and Liu Xiaobo, founding president of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre and 2010 Nobel Laureate for Peace. John Ralston Saul, PEN International President, said: "we follow the model of writers like Mario Vargas Llosa and Liu Xiaobo. They are illustrations of PEN International's indivisible commitment to both literature and freedom of speech."
PEN members also took the opportunity to use their collective voice and call on the Chinese authorities: "We seize on this historic moment to call for the release from prison of Liu Xiaobo and the release from house arrest of this wife, Liu Xia."
Liu Xiaobo, the prominent Chinese dissident writer who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in December 2009, was the founder and first president of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre. He has since been made honorary member of nine PEN Centres. Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in absentia in 2010. Marian Botsford Fraser, Chair of the Writers in Prison PEN Committee, attended the award ceremony. "Members of the PEN community were honoured to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo last December," said Botsford Fraser. "But not a single member of Liu's family or anyone from mainland China was allowed to attend, and the award was laid upon an empty chair. The PEN community will continue to fight for the unconditional release of our colleague, Liu Xiaobo."

Notes to editors:PEN International celebrates literature and promotes freedom of expression. Founded in 1921, our global community of writers now comprises 144 Centres spanning more than 100 countries. Our programmes, campaigns, events and publications connect writers and readers for global solidarity and cooperation. PEN International is a non-political organization and holds consultative status at the United Nations and UNESCO.
For more information and to request interviews please contact our press office:
penoffice@pen-international | press@pen-international.org | + 44 (0) 20 7405 0338.
Or contact our Executive Director Laura McVeigh: +44 (0)7824640527
www.pen-international.org

Ethiopia: Three print journalists charged with terrorism; concerns for wellbeing

English PEN protests the terrorism charges brought against two Ethiopian journalists and one Swedish reporter on 6 September 2011, which could see them imprisoned for up to 20 years if convicted. Feteh columnist Reeyot Alemu, Awramba Times deputy editor Woubshet Taye and Kontinet reporter Martin Schibbye have all been detained since June. Taye has reportedly been tortured while Alemu's health is deteriorating rapidly; neither has been given access to medical treatment. English PEN fears that the three journalists are being targeted for their critical reporting in violation of their right to freedom of expression. We are therefore calling on the Ethiopian authorities to drop the charges and release them, and in the meantime ensure that Alemu and Taye are given immediate access to the medical treatment they require. Please send appeals - guidelines and addresses follow.

Detained since 19 and 22 June 2011 respectively, Woubshet Taye and Reeyot Alemu appeared before Ethiopia's High Court on 6 September and were charged under the anti-terrorism law. Their lawyers said they did not have any details about the charges as they were not notified of the hearing and as a result could not attend. Both journalists are being held at Maekelawi Prison in the capital Addis Ababa. Terrorism charges were also filed in absentia against Elias Kifle, editor of the Washington-based anti-government website Ethiopian Review; Kifle lives in exile in the USA.

During a court hearing in August, Taye stated that he had been tortured by state officials while he was being interrogated in prison. As of early September, he was reportedly suffering from pain in his ear and stomach as a result of beatings, but had not been given any medical treatment. The same reports suggest that Alemu's physical and psychological state of health has seriously deteriorated in prison and she is extremely weak. Her relatives have been allowed to visit her and bring her medicines but she has not received any treatment from doctors. Both journalists say they were denied access to a lawyer during their interrogation. For more details on their arrest, please click here.

In a separate case, Martin Schibbye, reporter for the Sweden-based news agency Kontinet, was also charged with terrorism, as well as violation of migration laws, on 6 September 2011. He was charged along with a photojournalist for the same agency, Johan Persson. Their lawyers were reportedly not present at the hearing.

Schibbye and Persson were arrested by Ethiopian security forces on 30 June 2011 while reporting on the activities of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), armed separatists operating in the oil-rich province of Ogaden in eastern Ethiopia. The Ethiopian government claims that the journalists are working with the ONLF, which it designated as a terrorist group in June. According to Reporters Without Borders, they were arrested after illegally entering the Ogaden region from Somalia in the company of members of the ONLF and with the aim of investigating human rights violations by the Ethiopian armed forces in the region. The Ethiopian authorities have reportedly blocked journalists' access to the region.

Background

Ethiopia's anti-terrorism law, which criminalises any reporting deemed to 'encourage' or 'provide moral support' to groups and causes which the government considers to be 'terrorist', has been widely criticised as being vaguely worded and catch-all. It carries sentences of up to 20 years in prison.

Useful links

Terrorism charges brought against the three print journalists:
- Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) (7 September 2011)
- Reporters Without Borders (8 September 2011)

Treatment in prison/ health status of Taye and Alemu:
- Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) (1 September 2011)

Please send appeals:

- Protesting the terrorism charges brought against Awramba Times deputy editor Woubshet Taye, Feteh columnist Reeyot Alemu and Kontinet reporter Martin Schibbye on 6 September 2011, which could see them imprisoned for up to 20 years if convicted;
- Expressing concern that the journalists have been arrested and charged purely in relation to their peaceful journalistic activity, in violation of the right to freedom of expression protected under international human rights treaties to which Ethiopia is a party, including the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and People's Rights;
- Expressing alarm at reports that Taye has reportedly been tortured and that Alemu's health is deteriorating rapidly in prison, and yet neither has been given access to medical treatment;
- Calling on the Ethiopian authorities to allow the journalists access to doctors and lawyers as a matter of urgency;
- Calling for the journalists' immediate and unconditional release.

Appeals to:

Minister of Justice
Berhanu Hailu
Ministry of Justice
P.O. Box 1370
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Fax: 251 11 551 7775/ 7755
Email: justice@telecom.net.et, ministry-justice@telecom.net.et
Salutation: Dear Minister

Minister of Foreign Affairs
Mr Seyoum Mesfin
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
PO Box 393
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Fax: 251 11 551 43 00
Email: mfa.addis@telecom.net.et
Salutation: Dear Minister

Please also send appeals to the Ethiopian Embassy in London:

His Excellency Mr. Ato Berhanu Kebede
Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
17 Princes Gate,
London
SW7 1PZ
Fax: 020 7584 7054
Email: ambassador@ethioembassy.org.uk

NB. Please do let us know if you send an appeal, and certainly if you should receive a response, by emailing cat@englishpen.org

Writers in Translation

*** Writers in Translation grants programme is now open for submissions - see 'About Writers in Translation' ***

Making the World Legible 2005 - 2011

In 2010, Writers in Translation marked its fifth anniversary with the publication of an anthology containing extracts from 36 books that the programme had supported since its inception. Making the World Legible contains a dazzling array of fiction, non-fiction and poetry from some of the best international writers of our time; distinct and powerful voices from every corner of the globe.

We're delighted that extracts from this celebrated anthology are now available on the Ether Books App free of charge. World authors including Emine Sevgi Ozdamar, Jose Eduardo Agualusa, Jean Hatzfeld, Yassin Adnan, Alberto Mendez and Tahar Ben Jelloun have been published, with more to follow. You can download extracts free from the free Ether App here.

The full anthology is also available online, absolutely free! Download it now... and be transported to another place.

 

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Source : English pen