.png)
The festival schedule boasted a wide array of lectures, discussions, and gatherings of all sizes.
Some of the events, including opening night events on New Yorks' waterfront, feature world-famous authors and poets. Among them were Gioconda Belli, Iva Bittová, Mircea Cartarescu, Deborah Eisenberg, Evan Fallenberg, Malcolm Gladwell, Hanif Kureishi, Andrea Levy, Agi Mishol, Amélie Nothomb, Salman Rushdie, Wallace Shawn, Vladimir Sorokin, and Zha Jianying.
According to PEN, the festival included over 100 writers from 40 countries who came to New York City "to celebrate the power of the writer’s voice as a bold and vital element of public discourse." Part of PEN’s mission, and running themes throughout the festival, include freedom of speech and freedom of expression.
During a talk on April 26 entitled "Solidarity with the Hungarian Theatre," the discussion centered around the state of Hungarian theater and the performing arts industry at large. Featured speakers included Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó and Romanian-born Hungarian philosopher and essayist, G.M. Tamas.
During the discussion, Mundruczó repeatedly stated that the funding for the Hungarian filmmaking industry, which used to be largely state-subsidized, has dried up following recent sweeping changes in the government.
"The funding [for arts] was broken not because of government, but because it was corrupt," said Mundruczó, who was speaking within the context of the political changes in Hungary. The country signed a new constitution yesterday.
G.M. Tamas, who is known for taking provocative positions on sensitive issues in his essays and writing, added that on top of Hungary’s new constitution, there is a controlling media law document that is over 200 pages long. He said it controls multiple aspects related to freedom of speech, from the dramatic arts to the media. Tamas warned that beyond that, there are also problems with the new constitution.
At another April 26, event Russian poets Igor Belov and Ksenia Shcherbino were joined by pianist Svetlana Smolina. Smolina performed selections from Russian composers—including some favorites from Rachmaninoff—in between poetry readings in Russian by Belov and Shcherbino.
Belov, who says his work is often labeled "jazz poetry," also said Russia is not exactly a bastion of free speech.
"Now, so-called extremism is an offense that comes with legal punishment," said Belov after sarcastically noting that Russian writers can say whatever they want because their political leaders never read. “I could end up in jail just for saying a little bit more than I am right now.”
April 27 events showcased a variety of literary talent from around the world. Among them were writers from Quebec, the Ukraine, and Spain who write in what is considered minority languages.
Nicolas Dickner, a Canadian writer from French-speaking Quebec, repeatedly noted the difficulties of getting published in France, even though he writes in French. He and other Quebecan writers in the forum noted that the difficulty stems from the French aversion to publishing and reading works that are considered to be written in “Francophone,” and not pure French.
“It’s easier [for Quebec writers] to get published in Germany than in France,” said Dickner.
Another April 27 event featured five Arab panelists from Morocco to Egypt who pondered on the meaning of recent uprisings in the Arab world. The panelists included writers, publishers, and journalists Abdelkader Benali, Abdellah Taia, Rula Jebreal, Alex Nunns, and Issandr El Amrani.
Abdelkader Benali, a Moroccan writer who has lived in the Netherlands since 1979, said he has found recent events in Egypt and the Middle East fascinating because of the action the people took of their own accord.
“It was something incredible—people saying no—going out into the street and saying ‘enough’,” said Benali during the seminar.
Issandr El Amrani, an Egyptian blogger from Cairo, touched on intellectual drain that the country has faced for years. El Amrani said that it’s connected to the pressure that the past regime put on the country’s writers, artists, and even actors to toe the party line and be loyal to the government, whether they agreed with it or not. He said the choice up until recently was to go along with the regime, or leave the country.
“Intellectuals were pressured by regimes to be supportive,” said el Amrani. “We thought that in the name of security, we should keep these regimes.” But he added that in many cases, people did leave rather than suffer silently.
“If you notice, all of us left the Arab world,” said el Amrani of himself and the other panelists.
