{"id":14520,"date":"2016-07-13T08:25:45","date_gmt":"2016-07-13T12:25:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/?p=14520"},"modified":"2016-07-13T08:25:45","modified_gmt":"2016-07-13T12:25:45","slug":"make-noise-beauty-on-july-28-a-day-of-creativity-for-ashraf-fayadh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/make-noise-beauty-on-july-28-a-day-of-creativity-for-ashraf-fayadh\/","title":{"rendered":"Make Noise & Beauty on July 28, a Day of Creativity for Ashraf\u00a0Fayadh"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY MLYNXQUALEY<\/a><\/span><\/span> on<\/em> 0<\/a> )<\/span><\/p>\n

An open letter from poet-activist Mona Kareem and ArabLit editor M Lynx Qualey:<\/em>\u201cEverything has weight.
\nYour weight is well known to the back walls
\nbecause your heavy shadow doesn\u2019t give the asphalt, the paint,
\nor the writings stuck on the windows a chance to appear.
\nYou also have space, significant space,
\nin the void.\u201d \u2013 Ashraf Fayadh<\/p>\n

Dear editors, writers, artists, friends:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"13620856_1254063114612334_3955877283984768615_n\"On Thursday, July 28<\/strong>, writers, artists, journalists, and bloggers around the world will be composing tweets, blogs, verse, videos, images, and more in support of the Palestinian poet and artist Ashraf Fayadh, sentenced to death last November in Saudi Arabia for his poetry, which accusers claimed \u201cspread atheism,\u201d among other things. His death sentence was repealed this February<\/a>, following worldwide protests. He was re-sentenced to eight years and 800 lashes.<\/p>\n

Writers and artists around the world \u2014 including Wole Soyinka, Orhan Pamuk, and Adonis \u2014 have shown their support for Ashraf. More than 200 readings were held, at sites around the world, for Ashraf on January 14<\/a>.\u00a0Leading Moroccan poet Abdellatif Laabi recently published a\u00a0French translation of Ashraf\u2019s book, which was released by Le temps des cerises. A Spanish collection,Palabras Para Ashraf<\/em>, includes work by Cervantes Prize winner Antonio Gamoneda and Royal Spanish Academy member F\u00e9lix de Az\u00faa. An English translation will be pre-released in August by The Operating System press in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

Despite this\u00a0support, Ashraf is still alone in prison. Ashraf needs your support so that he won\u2019t be be forgotten and vulnerable in prison.<\/p>\n

Let us be loud enough that he hears us.<\/p>\n

Ten suggestions:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 \u2013 Share Ashraf\u2019s story<\/strong> on Twitter, instagram, in a Facebook status, on Tumblr. English PEN has a summary of his case<\/a>. #FreeAshraf<\/p>\n

2 \u2013 Quote from his poetry.<\/strong> His most recent poem, \u201cTense Times<\/a>,\u201d is available on\u00a0The Guardian.<\/em> Other poems are linked here<\/a>.\u00a0Share it online or in person. Make it your email signature file. Make or share e-cards with his poems.<\/p>\n

3 \u2013 Write your own poem<\/strong> in response to Ashraf\u2019s poetry, art, or his life story.<\/p>\n

4 \u2013 Make a video<\/strong> (of yourself reading a poem, a filmpoem, of an explanation of what happened to Ashraf, or something else).<\/p>\n

5 \u2013 Write a personal essay or blog<\/strong> about your response to Ashraf\u2019s work, or about one of his poems.<\/p>\n

6 \u2013 Do a podcast or radio broadcast<\/strong> (where you discuss Ashraf\u2019s work with a poet or artist, or read his work aloud, or something else).<\/p>\n

7 \u2013 Draw a cartoon<\/strong> (political or otherwise).<\/p>\n

8 \u2013 Make digital art for Ashraf\u00a0<\/strong>or draw his portrait.<\/p>\n

9 \u2013 Compose and perform a song.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

10 \u2013 Write a short play<\/strong>, as Hassan Abdulrazzak\u2019s \u201cThe Several Beheadings of Ashraf Fayadh.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information:\u00a0Mona Kareem <mona.kareem \u2013 at \u2013 gmail \u00a0\u2013 dot \u2013 com> or\u00a0Marcia Lynx Qualey <mlynxqualey \u2013 at \u2013 gmail \u2013 dot \u2013 com>.<\/p>\n

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Share this:<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY MLYNXQUALEY on JULY 13, 2016 \u2022 ( 0 ) An open letter from poet-activist Mona Kareem and ArabLit editor M Lynx Qualey:\u201cEverything has weight. Your weight is well known to the back walls...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1442,830,845],"tags":[1620,1864],"class_list":["post-14520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mashreq","category-poet","category-politics","tag-ashraf-fayadh","tag-mona-kareem"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14520"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14522,"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14520\/revisions\/14522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}