Authors including Junot Díaz and Joyce Carol Oates sign letter protest PEN America’s freedom of expression award for French magazine
More than two dozen writers including Junot Díaz, Joyce Carol Oates and Lorrie Moore have joined a protest against a freedom of expression award for Charlie Hebdo, signing a letter taking issue with what they see as a “reward” for the magazine’s controversial cartoons.
In their letter the writers protest against the award from PEN America, the prominent literary organization of which most of the signatories are members, accusing the French satirical magazine of mocking a “section of the French population that is already marginalized, embattled, and victimized”.
Important to support PEN even if one does not always agree with individual awards. Suggest polling membership re "controversial" decisions.
PEN honors & defends "freedom of expression" but not all "expression"--it is selective. Not anti-Semitic, for instance. Seems reasonable.
To some, cartoons depicting black women as monkeys are just so offensive we resent "award." But would defend freedom of expression.
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