10. Mar 2016

20th edition of the Dissident Blog dedicated to ICORN

ICORN WORLD MAP Infographics by IKI IKE. Photo — ICORN map of cities of refug. Infographics by IKI IKE

The 20th edition of the Dissident Blog is entirely dedicated to the theme of cities of refuge. The blog presents works by and interviews with many ICORN writers and artists, and provides a solid background on the nature and development of the network.

Among the writers and artists represented in this issue is the recently arrived ICORN writer in Linköping, Syrian writer and journalist, Housam Al-Mosilli, who was asked by the Dissident Blog to write a diary during his last three months in Istanbul before his journy took him to Sweden; ICORN musician in Harstad, Sudanese Abazar Hamid is interviewed by PEN International on his peace songs for Sudan; Iraqi journalist Nawzat Shamdin is interviewd on ISIS and journalism in Iraq; Poems about exile and his new city by Cuban journalist and writer Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo, who went from Havanna to Reykjavik in 2015.

City coordinator in Ljubljana City of Refuge, Jasmina Rihar tells about the daily life as a refuge coordinator, and Philippe Ollé-Laprune discusses his work with writers living in exile in Mexico City. Ola Larsmo from Swedish PEN and Helge Lunde puts straight the idea, nature and development of the network.

This and much more interesting articles can be found in the latest, 20th edition of the Dissident Blog.

The Dissident Blog is run by Swedish PEN, who has been an important cooperation partner for ICORN since the network started operating. “The new edition of the Dissident blog is a very impressive production”, says ICORN director Helge Lunde. “It confirms the vital role Swedish PEN plays for persecuted writers and artists in Sweden and around the world, and we look forward to even strengthening the bonds between us in the future.”