PEN Canada
Encyclopedia
PEN Canada is one of the 144 centres of International PEN
. Founded in 1926, it has a membership of over 1,000 writers and supporters who campaign on behalf of writers around the world who are persecuted, imprisoned and exiled for exercising their right to freedom of expression.
Since its founding, PEN has campaigned on behalf of such acclaimed writers as Czech playwright Václav Havel
, Nobel Peace Prize
winner Aung San Suu Kyi
of Burma, novelist Salman Rushdie and Turkey’s 2006 Nobel laureate in literature, Orhan Pamuk
. PEN Canada is a member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange
network.
Over the years, PEN Canada membership has included many of the leading figures in the Canadian literary and cultural establishment, including Margaret Atwood
, Adrienne Clarkson
, John Ralston Saul
, David Cronenberg
and Yann Martel
.
is marked on November 15. The PEN Canada One Humanity Award honors a writer, journalist, academic or PEN Canada Honorary Member outside of Canada.
The Writers in Exile Network establishes partnerships with Canadian universities, colleges and other institutions to create placements for writers who have found asylum in Canada, so that they may re-professionalize their skills in their new country. The City of Toronto/PEN Canada Writer in Exile Fellowship allows a refugee writer to be a member of the Toronto Writers’ Centre for one year.
The TAXI Project and Readers & Writers “explore freedom of expression through the arts” with actors, writers in exile and established and community authors participating in schools and community readings and events.
The National Affairs program run by PEN Canada acts as a watchdog on legislation and actions in Canada that violate the right to freedom of expression guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
PEN Canada also participates in Freedom to Read Week by holding events to raise awareness about freedom of expression.
International PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
. Founded in 1926, it has a membership of over 1,000 writers and supporters who campaign on behalf of writers around the world who are persecuted, imprisoned and exiled for exercising their right to freedom of expression.
Since its founding, PEN has campaigned on behalf of such acclaimed writers as Czech playwright Václav Havel
Václav Havel
Václav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
, Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
winner Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi, AC is a Burmese opposition politician and the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy. In the 1990 general election, her National League for Democracy party won 59% of the national votes and 81% of the seats in Parliament. She had, however, already been detained...
of Burma, novelist Salman Rushdie and Turkey’s 2006 Nobel laureate in literature, Orhan Pamuk
Orhan Pamuk
Ferit Orhan Pamuk , generally known simply as Orhan Pamuk, is a Turkish novelist. He is also the Robert Yik-Fong Tam Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, where he teaches comparative literature and writing....
. PEN Canada is a member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange
International Freedom of Expression Exchange
The International Freedom of Expression eXchange , founded in 1992, is a global network of around 90 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression....
network.
Over the years, PEN Canada membership has included many of the leading figures in the Canadian literary and cultural establishment, including Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
, Adrienne Clarkson
Adrienne Clarkson
Adrienne Louise Clarkson is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 26th since Canadian Confederation....
, John Ralston Saul
John Ralston Saul
John Ralston Saul, CC is a Canadian author, essayist, and President of International PEN.As an essayist, Saul is particularly known for his commentaries on the nature of individualism, citizenship and the public good; the failures of manager-, or more precisely technocrat-, led societies; the...
, David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
and Yann Martel
Yann Martel
Yann Martel is a Canadian author best known for the Man Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi.-Early life:Martel was born in Salamanca, Spain where his father was posted as a diplomat for the Canadian government. He was raised in Costa Rica, France, Mexico, and Canada...
.
PEN Canada Programs
The Writers in Prison Committee advocates on behalf of 25-30 persecuted, imprisoned and murdered writers in countries such as Myanmar, China, Iran, Turkey, Mexico, Eritrea and Uzbekistan. Since January 2003, PEN Canada has seen the release from prison of 33 Honorary Members. International PEN's Day of the Imprisoned WriterDay of the Imprisoned Writer
The Day of the Imprisoned Writer is an annual, international day intended to recognize and support writers who resist repression of the basic human right to freedom of expression and who stand up to attacks made against their right to impart information. This day is observed each year on November 15...
is marked on November 15. The PEN Canada One Humanity Award honors a writer, journalist, academic or PEN Canada Honorary Member outside of Canada.
The Writers in Exile Network establishes partnerships with Canadian universities, colleges and other institutions to create placements for writers who have found asylum in Canada, so that they may re-professionalize their skills in their new country. The City of Toronto/PEN Canada Writer in Exile Fellowship allows a refugee writer to be a member of the Toronto Writers’ Centre for one year.
The TAXI Project and Readers & Writers “explore freedom of expression through the arts” with actors, writers in exile and established and community authors participating in schools and community readings and events.
The National Affairs program run by PEN Canada acts as a watchdog on legislation and actions in Canada that violate the right to freedom of expression guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
PEN Canada also participates in Freedom to Read Week by holding events to raise awareness about freedom of expression.
Awards and Fellowships
- The PEN Canada/Paul Kidd Courage Prize is given to a Canadian journalist and recognizes exceptional courage in the quest for freedom of expression.
- The PEN Canada/RBC Writer’s Fellowship for New Canadians enables a writer in exile to receive a stipend in a university residency.
- The City of Toronto/PEN Canada Writer in Exile Fellowship allows a refugee writer to be a member of the Toronto Writers’ Centre for one year.
One Humanity Award
The One Humanity Award has been given since 2006 to an international writer, journalist, academic, or honorary PEN member who has endured repression or shown courage in exercising their freedom of expression. The honour has been awarded to:- Jiang WeipingJiang WeipingJiang Weiping is a veteran mainland Chinese journalist known internationally for his arrest by the Communist Party of China in 2001. During his career, he received several awards from local and provincial governments for his journalism and reporting. In 1999, he began publishing a series of...
(2006) - Maung Thura, aka Zargana (2008)
- Lydia CachoLydia CachoLydia Cacho Ribeiro is a Mexican journalist and feminist and human rights activist. She is a member of the Red Internacional de Periodistas con Visión de Género.-Biography:...
(2009)
See also
- PEN American CenterPEN American CenterPEN American Center , founded in 1922 and based in New York City, works to advance literature, to defend free expression, and to foster international literary fellowship. The Center has a membership of 3,300 writers, editors, and translators...
- Kurdish PENKurdish PENKurdish PEN or The Kurdish Centre of the International PEN is a branch of International PEN. It was suggested by Kurdish writer Hüseyin Erdem and voted into existence during International PEN's conference in Cambridge in 1988...
- International PENInternational PENPEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
- Tunisia Monitoring GroupTunisia Monitoring GroupThe Tunisia Monitoring Group is a coalition of 21 free expression organisations that belong to the International Freedom of Expression Exchange , a global network of non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press.The IFEX-TMG...
- International Freedom of Expression ExchangeInternational Freedom of Expression ExchangeThe International Freedom of Expression eXchange , founded in 1992, is a global network of around 90 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression....