PEN Canada envisions a world where
writers are free to write,
readers are free to read,
and freedom of expression prevails
A former prisoner of conscience, Zarganar is widely considered to be the most popular comedian and satirist in Myanmar. In 2008, Zarganar was sentenced to 59 years in prison for speaking to foreign media about the devastation that followed cyclone Nargis. His efforts were rewarded with the Lillian Hellman and Dashiel Hammett Award by the […]
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“As a dentist I could only open one mouth at a time,” quipped Zarganar. “But when I tell jokes I open many mouths.”
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PEN Canada welcomes the release of Maung Thura – the Burmese poet and comedian better known as ‘Zarganar’ – in an amnesty for several hundred prisoners in Myanmar. Zarganar is an Honorary Member of PEN Canada and the recipient of our 2008 One Humanity Award.
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We are a genuinely global organization and our lack of partisan interests gives us a unique moral power to address freedom of expression crises in any part of the world.
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PEN Canada One Humanity Award Introduced in 2006, The One Humanity Award is presented by the members of PEN Canada to a writer whose work transcends the boundaries of national divides and inspires connections across cultures. Valued at $5,000 CAD, the award honours PEN’s commitment to literature as a common currency between nations, and as […]
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PEN Canada Advocates write to an imprisoned honorary member each month for one year. If you would like to be part of the Advocates Program, please contact program manager Brendan de Caires at bdecaires@pencanada.ca. Become an PEN Canada Advocate for imprisoned writers Burmese comedian, poet and actor Zarganar had lost consciousness, the heat of his prison cell […]
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PEN Canada Advocates write to an imprisoned honorary member each month for one year.
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PEN welcomes the release of poet and PEN Myanmar member, Maung Saung Kha, who was arrested on November 5, 2015 on charges of criminal insult.
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PEN calls on the Myanmar authorities to drop all charges against poet and PEN Myanmar member, Maung Saung Kha.
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Kenneth J. Harvey’s thoughtful piece on the realities of his work as a minder, originally published in PEN Canada’s December 1994 newsletter.
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Finding the Words: Writers on Inspiration, Desire, War, Celebrity, Exile, and Breaking the Rules