Book Release: “An Illustrated Story” [] PEN International San Miguel Center
Event Category: All Events, Community Events, and Literary Events
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Wednesday, December 8th, 4pm
Patio of the Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes Street #25
FREE ADMISSION
Published as part of PEN International’s Centenary celebrations, PEN International: An Illustrated History is the extraordinary story of how PEN has placed the celebration of literature and the defense of free speech at the center of humanity’s struggle against repression since 1921.
The book takes the reader through the key moments of PEN’s history over the last 100 years, in 320 pages and more than 500 pictures, letters, documents, posters and maps.
From opposing book-burning and the persecution of writers in Nazi Germany, to supporting imprisoned writers across the world today, PEN has worked to safeguard against all kinds of censorship and self-censorship. The extraordinary writers who have been PEN cases include: Federico García Lorca, Stefan Zweig, Musine Kokalari, Wole Soyinka, Salman Rushdie, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Anna Politkovskaya, Hrant Dink and Svetlana Alexievich.
Those writers’ voices, and those of the many others who have battled to uphold the opening phrase of PEN’s Charter— “Literature knows no frontiers”—are still very much with us. Their fortitude has made PEN International the strong, vibrant, active movement it is today. Their stories are told in this book, illustrated by unique archive photographs and documents.
Edited by Carles Torner and Jan Martens
Authors: Ginevra Avalle, Jennifer Clement, Peter McDonald, Rachel Potter, Carles Torner, Laetitia Zecchini.
https://pen-international.org/
PEN International San Miguel Center
The San Miguel de Allende, Mexico centre of PEN International, a worldwide association of writers fighting for freedom of expression
San Miguel PEN, one of the 145 centers of PEN International, the worldwide association of writers with centers in 104 countries, exists to promote friendship and intellectual cooperation among writers everywhere, fight for freedom of expression and represent the conscience of world literature. San Miguel PEN is in San Miguel de Allende, in the middle of Mexico on the high plateau. It was created in 1979 as a center for English-speaking writers in Latin America in hopes of unifying the English and Spanish linguistic communities within PEN. San Miguel PEN promotes the Spanish language in all its work.
Our Programs:
The PEN Writers in Prison Committee has been a focus of the San Miguel center for over 20 years. In 2002 San Miguel hosted the PEN Writers in Prison Committee’s international conference. This work involves answering countless calls for emergency action to aid those in legal trouble for their writing, including prison and threats of death. San Miguel PEN is also active in International PEN’s Women Writers Committee, its Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee, and the PEN Iberoamerican Foundation (a regional organization). San Miguel PEN sponsors local literary programs and a local scholarship program that helps Mexican children with limited financial resources stay in school. It participates in major Mexican literary events, such as the enormous yearly Feria Internacional del Libro in Guadalajara. PEN members travel at their own expense to represent the group at the United Nations and at international conferences. San Miguel PEN sponsors an annual Winter Lecture Series to fund local activities and help support the international organization. Contact us HERE.
Mailing Address:San Miguel PEN Center Apdo. 287 37700 San Miguel de Allende, GTO Mexico