On Tuesday 7th March 2023 our Women Writers Committee hosted an online event to mark International Women’s Day. We are pleased to share a selection of readings from the event here.
The event featured readings from Jo Clifford, Ali Millar, Wendy Millar, Finola Scott, Lorna Callery-Sithole, Zöe Strachan and Nuala Watt, in response to the theme of ‘Embracing Equity’. Video recordings of a selection of poems read at the event are available to view below.
An Empty Chair was placed in tribute to Salma al-Shebab, and Scottish PEN President, Ricky Monahan Brown, shared the following remarks:
Since the 1980s, PEN International has used an Empty Chair at events to symbolise a writer missing from proceedings, either because they are imprisoned, threatened, disappeared or even killed. This highly symbolic move serves as a reminder of the violence and censorship faced by writers all over the world.
Every year on the Day of the Imprisoned Writer, and at every Writers at Risk Committee event, Scottish PEN presents an empty chair, and we now present an empty chair at our public events generally, and share the details of a writer at risk, to bring the work of PEN International and its many national chapters into focus. This is intended to be a potent symbol of the absence of all at-risk or imprisoned writers. The Empty Chair does not just symbolise individual writers, instead it symbolises every writer who has been prevented from joining us, either by censorship, prison or violence. By having an Empty Chair at our events we are making present the absence of all writers who have been persecuted for their work.
Salma al-Shehab is a Saudi national who was a student at the University of Leeds at the time of her alleged ‘crimes’ – sharing content in support of prisoners of conscience and women human right defenders, such as Loujain Al-hath-loul. For this, upon Salma al-Shehab’s return to Saudi Arabia, she was arrested and held arbitrarily for nearly a year, before being sentenced to 34 years in prison with a subsequent 34-year travel ban.
In light of the UK’s close relationship with Saudi Arabia, PEN International, our colleagues at English PEN, and other human rights organisations have written to James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, asking him to take action on behalf of Salma al-Shehab. As we join together to mark tomorrow’s International Women’s Day, Scottish PEN expresses its solidarity with Salma al-Shehab and joins and reiterates that call for action.
Poetry readings
Scottish PEN would like to thank readers for agreeing to share their work with us in a digital format. We hope you enjoy the readings and take the time to learn more about the writers featured below. Biographies for Finola and Lorna are available in the descriptions accompanying their videos on YouTube.
Jo Clifford reads an extract from ‘The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven’
Nuala Watt reads ‘Sonnet for a Second Child’
Lorna Callery-Sithole reads a selection of poems
Lorna has shared an explanatory note to accompany her poem ‘Maroon Women’, which you can read here.