Freedom for the poet Dmitry Strotsev

my wife and I aren’t revolutionaries
non-partisan and unarmed
a dragon’s settled in our house
armed and flesh-eating

Dmitry Strotsev

Poet and PEN Belarus member Dmitry Strotsev was sentenced to 13 days in prison today after taking part in a peaceful demonstration in Belarus. Detained Wednesday, Strotsev has used social media to publish poetry criticizing the Belarusian government and is now part of a string of prominent writers who have been unjustly detained for exercising the right to speak out. PEN America demands an end to such persecution, and welcomes the news today that the opposition has been awarded the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize. Continue