Retooled Protest Poems Seeks Submissions
From Ren at Protest Poems Org:
“protestpoems.org is a quarterly journal devoted entirely to poetry that tackles human rights issues. It is a politically targeted extension of the online journal Babel Fruit: Writing Under the Influence. Retooled and relaunching in December 2008, the journal will strive to present the best poems of protest written to promote freedom of speech and human rights. Our aim is to raise awareness of general and specific issues, and hopefully inspire activism in the form of written protests.”
The site includes a list of countries and the realted stories where writers are currently under persecution, including:
Nigeria – Reporter receives death threats from church members, asks security service for protection
United States – State Department to issue visas to two Cuban correspondents
France – Two regional newspapers raided
Sri Lanka – Military spokesperson asks newspaper to change photo caption
Burma – Journalist and opposition member Ohn Kyaing arrested again
Volume 1 of Protest Poems will be dedicated to Russian website owner Magomed Yevloyev, who was shot in the head August 31, 2008 while in police custody. Yevloyev maintained an opposition website (ingushetiya.ru) that has been fiercely critical of the Ingushetian leadership.
