This letter and accompanying material must be read in the context of two related letters published here (11/18/22) and here (1/20/23). After the second letter was published Behnaz Amani was released from prison; our letter was used in support of this life-saving action. The participants have asked that I publish this new material. Our previous letters were written poets to poets, as is this one. Listen please to Behnaz Amani’s voice here and in the previous post. We are not talking about multitudes: we address the precarious situation of this one person, who cannot be conflated with anyone else and who is, above all, indispensable. ––Ch.B.
Several months ago a group of American poets signed a letter in solidarity with jailed Iranian poets. In the meantime, the Iranian Writers Action Committee, a new organization, has been set up by Iranians outside the country. They have compiled an extensive list of writers who are in danger. You will find Behnaz Amani on this list. Our initial letter was not designed to get media attention in the U.S.
Payam Hassanzadeh: Solidarity and Guilt
A Tribute to the Unacknowledged Legislators of the World
This letter and accompanying material must be read in the context of two related letters published here (11/18/22) and here (1/20/23). After the second letter was published Behnaz Amani was released from prison; our letter was used in support of this life-saving action. The participants have asked that I publish this new material. Our previous letters were written poets to poets, as is this one. Listen please to Behnaz Amani’s voice here and in the previous post. We are not talking about multitudes: we address the precarious situation of this one person, who cannot be conflated with anyone else and who is, above all, indispensable. ––Ch.B.
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