A new federal appeals court ruling is bad news for books in Iowa. The court lifted a temporary injunction against the state’s book ban law, which has already led to the removal of more than 3,000 books from public schools. Jonathan Friedman, Sy Sims director of U.S. Free Expression programs, called the law “a perfect recipe for censorship,” adding, “we are deeply concerned that Iowa students will return to schools full of empty shelves.” PEN America filed an amicus brief in support of plaintiffs.
The Fate of American Democracy Depends on Free Speech
In the scholarly journal Dædalus, CEO Suzanne Nossel writes about the loss of faith in free speech on the left and the right, and how a flagging commitment to free expression in education, in terms of protest and assembly rights, and in relation to the role of the free press, are collectively weakening American democracy. “Solidifying free speech as a democratic cornerstone will require action at every level of society,” she writes.
PEN America condemned Iranian military forces and prison guards at Iran’s Evin prison after they attacked 2023 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Narges Mohammadi and other imprisoned women. According to her cellmates, Mohammadi was repeatedly punched in the chest and collapsed due to the pain. PEN America has repeatedly called for Mohammadi’s immediate release and recently created a petition urging the Iranian government to free her.
This week’s Member Spotlight features Arroyo Circle by PEN America Member JoeAnn Hart. Set in smoke-filled Boulder, Colorado, Arroyo Circle follows the crossed paths of Les, a creek-dwelling, shape-shifting scientist and Shelley, the handmaid of a hoarder. After Shelley is violently confronted by police who believe she put a baby in her car trunk, she is often unsheltered. Informed by quantum physics, Buddhism, and Tito’s, Les questions the planet’s future but works to insure Shelley has one. Their lives are dogged by angels, a pandemic, and an ambulatory psychotic darkly connected to Shelley. When the Chinook winds arrive and melt the mountain snow, everyone, including the police, has one last shot at redemption.
For years now, we’ve been dealing with a rapid spread of disinformation and misinformation, particularly around elections. And while news media has traditionally been the solution to counter false information, it has also been experiencing a decline in trust from the public — making the effectiveness and reach of our work more challenging than ever. Come hear experts on political coverage and misinformation speak about approaches they’ve taken to get correct information in front of the public, especially leading up to Election Day, and strategies your newsroom can implement today as you gear up for November.
In this week’s PEN Ten, poet Yahia Lababidi speaks about his newest book, Palestine Wail (Daraja Press, 2024), a love letter to Gaza that draws upon a tradition of Palestinian resistance literature. In the interview, Lababidi discusses his insights as an Arab-American of Palestinian background, the gardening imagery that pervades his poems, and the pushback he received on his work in the publishing process.
PEN America recently spotlighted two authors in its Works of Justice series: Judith Tannenbaum, who dedicated her life to students in and out of the prison, and Curtis Dawkins, who has published a collection of stories and is now writing a memoir while serving his life sentence in Coldwater, Michigan. The posts explore The Book of Judith: Opening Hearts Through Poetry, an anthology commemorating Tannenbaum’s life, as well as Dawkins’ journey to becoming a published author.
Collette Watson is attuned to the disinformation narratives about her community that often get swept under the rug. In 2017, Watson founded Black River Life, a Phoenix-based news, media, and cultural arts organization built to break down anti-Black narratives assumed as truth. “White supremacy as disinformation is routinely left out of the conversation,” she said.
Wisconsin Public Radio profiled Wisconsin’s “banned book queen,” Freedom to Read Program Consultant Tasslyn Magnusson. (WPR)
Kristen Shahverdian, program director of campus free speech at PEN America, spoke about the evolution of student activism, from the 1960s to modern-day protests, and the challenges of balancing free speech with inclusivity and diversity. (Books Show Tunes and Mad Acts)
Kasey Meehan, the director of PEN America’s Freedom to Read program, spoke with The Guardian about the 13 books recently banned in the entire state of Utah. (The Guardian)
In its coverage of New College of Florida’s destruction of hundreds of books, NBC quotes PEN America’s report on book bans. (NBC)
The Philadelphia Inquirer cites a PEN America poll in an article about a new “book sanctuary” in South Jersey. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
New York City officials are urging the Department of Education to fund student newspapers at every public high school in New York City. (Gothamist)
A judge ruled that a lawsuit artists filed against AI services for violating copyright law can proceed. (The Verge)
MSNBC opted not to air Donald Trump’s speech, stating it was concerned less with the news and more with “threats and lies and demeaning people.” (The Washington Post)
1 in 4 Americans say someone has tried to restrict students’ access to book in their community. (Chalkbeat)
“It is a moral imperative to prioritize human rights over political considerations and to advocate for the freedom of those who use their voices to defy tyranny and to champion justice and equality.”
— Letter to Government of Iran about Narges Mohammadi
TRENDING @ PENAMERICA
A Ban on ‘Ban This Book’
A school board in Indian River County, Florida banned Ban this Book by author Alan Gratz despite the recommendation of the district's own book review committee to keep the book on its shelves. Gratz said his book was banned in part because he dared to mention the titles of books already banned in the county. “This is erasure of the highest order.”
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