“The situation in Cuba,” writes Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo, “is identical to that of apartheid South Africa.” In his column, the Cuban writer looks at Nelson Mandela’s relationship with Fidel Castro in spite of the Cuba’s human rights violations and undemocratic political system.
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The Iranian government aggressively blocks online content with an extensive blacklist of URLs and URL keywords. According to an Iran Media Program study, Iran’s digital filter blocks access to pages on one of internet’s most open platforms: Wikipedia. Here’s an infographic that shows key findings.
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Sampsonia Way presents the ultimate book list based on the 19 Salon Readings that City of Asylum/Pittsburgh held during 2013. Each of the books on the list was written, edited, or translated by the stellar lineup of invited writers, journalists, and translators. Enjoy!
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In what is a reversal of a decades old policy, the Turkish Ministry of Culture refuses to give financial aid to private theaters that supported the Gezi Park protests and that stage plays that violate the public’s general morality. Turkey columnist and author Tarik Günersel explains the situation.
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Watch a short film on the acclaimed “people’s poet,” Ahmed Fouad Negm, recipient of the 2013 Prince Claus Award. A master poet, fearless social and political critic, Negm died on December 3, a few days before the award ceremony.
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“Expatriation—waking up one morning startled by agoraphobia, sentenced and expelled with no possibility of return—has another name and, why not, another destination: Saskatchewan.” Israel Centeno on Richard Ford’s novel, Canada.
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In light of the holiday season, Sampsonia Way’s international columnists share their 2013 reading recommendations. Selected by Israel Centeno, Tarik Günersel, Yaghoub Yadali, Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo, Mesfin Negash, Hamd El-Gazzar, Bina Shah, and Tienchi Martin-Liao.
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Independent Chinese PEN Center president, Tienchi Martin-Liao, reflects on the five-year anniversary of imprisonment of dissident writer and Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, his wife’s prolonged, Kafkaesque house arrest, the calls for solidarity from Chinese human rights activists, and the power of words.
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Does a new viral YouTube video signal big changes in Iran? Entitled “New Voyager,” the music video, which has strong similarities with the Obama campaign’s “Yes We Can” video, is largely based on president Hassan Rouhani speeches, shows women singing, and portrays Iran’s diverse society.
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In this segment of The Writer’s Block, the Belgian novelist Ivo Victoria discusses how becoming a writer has made him a reader, how music is his biggest stylistic influence, and how he plays the ‘game between fact and fiction.’
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