PEN America announced that it is embarking on an ambitious expansion of its programming centered on bolstering defense of press freedom across the country. Writers, journalists, readers and other members of PEN America and their allies interested in defending press freedom, sparking informed debate, and elevating less-heard voices can apply for grants and support as part of the new PEN Across America initiative and its cornerstone Press Freedom Incentive Fund.
PEN Across America responds to mounting threats to a free press and other free expression rights that are the foundation of our democracy. As an organization working at the intersection of literature and free expression, PEN America and its over 7,000 members across the country have a vital role to play in deepening their communities’ understanding of the role of a robust media in empowered civic life and mobilizing to defend news outlets, journalism, and the very concept of an independent press.
The Press Freedom Incentive Fund, first opened in 2017 and already active with PEN America communities in more than 20 cities, is open again to will provide resources, research, and expertise for a vibrant array of press freedom actions, including incisive public forums on how responsible journalism is done to research on “news deserts” and campaigns for news literacy. These efforts are set in the enlarged PEN Across America initiative to bring the full range of PEN America’s literary events with prominent and emerging writers, provocative Conversations of Consequence, campaigns for writers under threat, an upcoming series celebrating censored and challenged works as part of Banned Books Week starting September 23, and other programming to more communities across the country.
“At a time when our shared values are being questioned and threatened, our Members and allies are rising to the challenge and engaging their local communities to defend the pillars of our democracy,” said Katie Zanecchia, PEN America National Outreach Program Director. “In a difficult, even directly hostile, landscape for press freedom, PEN America’s constituents are shaping the conversation in regions across the country and we’re proud to be able to offer support for their visions.”
In its pilot year starting in 2017, the Press Freedom Incentive Fund supported initiatives by members, writers, and activists in more than 20 cities and regions and across divisions of ideology and experience to galvanize communities ready to defend press freedom, helping to strengthen the national constituency behind this critical cause. Using grants from the fund coupled with research, expert speakers, and support from PEN America’s New York City headquarters and offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., long-standing and newly joined members are mobilizing to demand and defend an independent and robust press as a foundation of democracy.
“During the first year of the program, PEN America Members hosted discussions, organized public actions, forged partnerships with local media, and so much more,” said Rebecca Stump, PEN America Director of Membership. “Our Members are front and center of activism to defend free expression, and we can’t wait to see what next year’s roster of engaging, enthusiastic, and impactful activities will bring.”
This initiative is undertaken with the generous support of the Democracy Fund, the Heising-Simons Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Compton Foundation. PEN America is currently accepting proposals for projects and activities scheduled between now and March 31, 2019. More information.Application. (Grants are from $1,000 – $4,000)
Thomas Jefferson 1786 by Mather Brown / public domain
“Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.” Thomas Jefferson
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open expression in the United States and worldwide. It champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Its mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. pen.org
Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. Currently I run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded. I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers.
My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman.
Thank you for sharing your love of words. Comments will appear after moderation.
How does it happen that love transforms us? Tell us in a poem or poems.
Share your poem/s on theme or a link to it/them in the comments section below.
All poems on theme will be published next Tuesday. Please do NOT email your poem to me or leave it on Facebook. If you do it’s likely I’ll miss it or not see it in time.
IF this is your first time joining us for The Poet by Day, Wednesday Writing Prompt, please send a brief bio and photo to me at thepoetbyday@gmail.com to introduce yourself to the community … and to me :-). These will be partnered with your poem/s on first publication.
PLEASE send the bio ONLY if you are with us on this for the first time AND only if you have posted a poem (or a link to one of yours) on theme in the comments section below.
Deadline: Monday, October 8 by 8 p.m. Pacific.
Anyone may take part Wednesday Writing Prompt, no matter the status of your career: novice, emerging or pro. It’s about exercising the poetic muscle, showcasing your work, and getting to know other poets who might be new to you. This is a discerning non-judgemental place to connect.
Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. Currently I run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded. I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers.
My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman.
Thank you for sharing your love of words. Comments will appear after moderation.
A modest but rather fabulous collection garnered from the last Wednesday Writing Prompt, near death experience, September 26. Sonja Benskin Mesher, Carol Mikada and Bozhidar Pangelov (bogpan) rose to the occasion with insight, passion and even a certain verve. Read on … Enjoy! … and do join in tomorrow for the next Wednesday Writing Prompt.
. that feeling, that .
arrives unexpected from darkness, some winters’ mornings,
opening the door to the sound of one black bran bird calling.
track four repeated. that
comes on waking finding peace and comfort bound in clean
linen.
arises with perfume, an uncertain memory.
it may be chemicals, peptides in the brain as love, what
ever the germ or warfare
I find no word to describe, no random feather nor dust on
my plate. pass a finger.
that feeling of trimmed nails upon the keys pounding
words and silences.
we have a memory or two. the world goes dark, we teach and learn, wait for light to appear
it is the way of things, while there are birds. while you read, you will not understand all words, that is the way of things.
it is natural, it is what they do, they live in the wild. . we have no power, they, no disgust that reels and kicks. yet while small birds live, they too will die. like us.
drift. in air, in words. symbols of poetry, cut and pasted. literally. naturally .
everyday tiny things sing.
when some small birds have failed and gone others sound just the same.
Sonja Benskin Mesher, RCA paintings (This is her Facebook page, so you can connect with her there as well as view photographs of her colorful paintings.)
In the style of Dali and Zappa,
fittingly obtuse, I say to you:
We exist only collectively.
We are all one force,
one consciousness.
It is all Love.
There is no I.
I will enter nothingness
so as worldly experiences are concerned.
I will move on to pure energy.
This is all a dream, graded gold,
burst in black light,
thinking of God, as God with God.
Nothingness and omnipresence
are one and the same.
Take my art. Take my writing.
It is all yours now.
Love my son, the best,
the best of all I have done.
In the end, there are no words.
Be grateful, as I am, for our time together.
Be grateful, each day, for life.
Be present, in each day, each hour, each moment
as if you were sure that
the present moment is all that’s certain.
My granny was a little
woman.
She loved to speak in other
languages:
Italian, French and
German.
And in the Grannies language for their grandchildren:
“my pretty”.
She didn’t get pension (that was
the time) and
our home was thronged with pupils. Surely because of this I learnt
neither one. Or with the guests who
dropped in
often (we lived in the downtown by the tail
of the horse* – they used
to say so), for having a cup of black coffee.
The coffee
was special – for fortune-telling. She
“was telling fortune” and they
were telling us. A lot of stories. Surely
because of this I
know neither one.
Then she started getting less and less and
slender.
One night my mother told me,
“Go to see her…”
A thin, transparent leaf.
Now surely she’s telling the fortune and
is speaking only in the Grannies language
for their grandchildren:
“my pretty”.
……………………………………………
*”the tail of the horse” is slang for the Historical Monument Tsar Osvoboditel (tsar liberator) that indicates the downtown of Sofia; more on the monument can be read here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_to_the_Tsar_Liberator
Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. Currently I run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded. I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers.
My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman.
Thank you for sharing your love of words. Comments will appear after moderation.
“I am content; that is a blessing greater than riches; and he to whom that is given need ask no more.” Henry Fielding (1707-1754), English novelist and playwright perhaps best know for Tom Jones
All is quiet here on this street.
The birds are coming and going
from the several birdfeeders
in the yard. They are not alarmed.
Their differences in feather
coloration do not cause discord.
They all take turns feeding and
bathing in the birdbath.
Our neighbors are on friendly terms.
I hear no loud shouts.
It’s an undisturbed Saturday afternoon.
I offer a friendly wave to our next-door
neighbor as I get into my car.
A group of children are playing ball
down the way…laughter carries on the wind.
The sky is composed.
It is blue but filled with
billowing clouds without
darkness or strife.
The trees stand untroubled
in silent repose harboring
multitude of species that
look to them for sanctuary.
They welcome all.
My granddaughters feel safe
and secure as they play
in their room. They know
they are loved and protected.
They feel at ease.
Our household is tranquil.
We live in harmony.
Stillness surrounds us.
Quietude permeates our life.
We are leaving 100TPC Virtual up through end-of-day October 6th so that those who weren’t able to share their work – or even fave pieces on theme (Peace, Sustainability, Social Justice) by other authors – still have time to do so. Instructions in the post explain how to share your poems or other art … check it out …
REMINDER
The Poet by Day
WEDNESDAY WRITING PROMPT
Response deadline is Monday, October 1 (today), at 8 p.m. Pacific. Poems on theme are published on this site on Tuesday, the October 2. Details HERE.
Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. I currently run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded. I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers. My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman. My poetry was recently read byNorthern California actor Richard Lingua for Poetry Woodshed, Belfast Community Radio. I was featured in a lengthy interview on the Creative Nexus Radio Show where I was dubbed “Poetry Champion.”
Thank you for sharing your love of words. Comments will appear after moderation.
Jamie Dedes' THE POET BY DAY Webzine 