The PEN World Voices Festival is unique in its combination of literary stars with lesser-known foreign writers. The emphasis on work in translation is particularly appealing. This year, Guernica hosts an event centered around the life and work of Nigerian writer Ken Saro-Wiwa. It's free and open to public. It would be great to see you there!
Here's the scoop:
May 2, 2009 | Standing Before History: Remembering Ken Saro-Wiwa
Introduction by Larry Siems, with Ken Wiwa, Richard North Patterson, with a reading by Steve Connell and Sekou; moderated by Okey Ndibe
On November 10, 1995, Nigeria’s military dictatorship hanged Ken Saro-Wiwa, one of the country’s most acclaimed and popular writers and the leader of a grassroots environmental movement in the oil-rich but impoverished Niger Delta. The region still seethes with unrest and many of the issues Saro-Wiwa gave his life to raise will be the subject of a lawsuit opening in New York this week against oil interests for complicity in his murder. Join Ken Wiwa Jr. and author Richard North Patterson for a discussion of Ken Saro-Wiwa's literary and political legacy, with readings from Saro-Wiwa’s work by Steve Connell and Sekou.
When: Saturday, May 2, 2009: 1–2:30 p.m.
Where: Elebash Recital Hall, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue
Free and open to the public
Cosponsored by Guernica Magazine and the Martin E. Segal Theatre, The Graduate Center, CUNY
