Talk about keeping it real. Being the outspoken woman that I am, I often hear jokes about how limited my life expectancy would be in the Sudan. Ha ha ha.
What they're trying to say to me is, "Shut the hell up, woman. If you didn't have so many damn rights I'd slap you one."
What I choose to hear instead is, "You're lucky you have the rights every human person should be entitled to. If you waste them, you dishonour all those who fight, suffer, die for the right to voice their thoughts." I take it as a reaffirmation of my commitment to meaningful dialogue (monologue?).
Enter PEN Canada, an organization "dedicated to defending freedom of opinion and the peaceable expression of said opinion as guaranteed by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." PEN Canada works with exhiled and persecuted writers internationally, advocating for their rights and raising awareness of issues affecting free expression.
February 25 was POETRY WITH A PULSE, a reading series held at the Metro Reference Library as part of Freedom to Read Week.
Wicked. Wicked. Wicked.
High Points of the Show:
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Exhiled Chinese national Sheg Xue's poetry was incredibly moving, particularly when read in bilingual tandem (English and Chinese versions simultaneously) with the help of Richard Lee. Words of love and loss are all the more poignant coming from a woman who is arrested on sight when she attempts to return home to her family. |
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A reading of Eritrean playwright Aaron Berhane's play Food Aid, by actors Richard Lee, Carlos Morgan and Amanda Bruegel. |
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Host Moses Znaimer's less moving but equally entertaining rap (inspired by Belladonna, of course) to close out the night. |
