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Tuesday 27 September 2005 - PRESS ADVISORY

Who: 100 poets from around the world
What: Dance the Guns to Silence: 100 poems for Ken Saro-Wiwa
Why: To commemorate the life and achievements of Ken Saro-Wiwa
When: 10 November 2005 – 10 years after his execution
How: Commissioned and produced by African Writers Abroad (PEN) Centre/ Published by Flipped
Eye Publishing ISBN: 1905233019 Price: £5.99/$12

As part of the Remember Saro-Wiwa project, Flipped Eye, is publishing an anthology of 100 poems to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa’s and his comrades, known as the Ogoni 9 which took place on 10 November 1995. The anthology will be published on 10 November 2005.

Poems from Amiri Baraka, Kamau Brathwaite, Jayne Cortez, Fred D’Aguiar, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Mutabaruka, Benjamin Zephaniah are just a sprinkling of the international names, which are set next to established African writers, such as Niyi Osundare, Veronique Tadjo, Helon Habila, Chris Abani, Syl Cheney Coker, Chenjerai Hove, Odia Ofeimun and Lemn Sissay. There are also poems from New Generation poets, Moniza Alvi, Sarah Maguire and Pascale Petit, award winning poets, Mario Petrucci, Nathalie Handal, Martin Espada, Ruth Padel, Kwame Dawes and Matthew Caley; new up and coming poets from the UK, including the BBC Africa 05 Writer in Residence, Rommi Smith, Heather Taylor and Choman Hardi; young activists and dynamic performance poets from the US, including, Staceyann Chin, Kevin Powell and Tony Medina.

Poems came in from Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Mexico, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Canada, written in Bangladeshi, Italian, Catalan, Patios, Castilian and Scots.

The title, Dance the Guns to Silence is taken from Saro-Wiwa’s poem ‘Dance’, with a Foreword written by Ken Wiwa and editorial advisory from the renowned Malawian poet, now living in Britain, Jack Mapanje. What has resulted is an anthology of strong and thoughtful poems of tribute, ranging from words of social consciousness to hard hitting images and moving stories.

Some poets, (Stewart Brown, Jack Mapanje, Chenjerai Hove, Niyi Osundare, Odia Ofeimun), had already written poems in honour of Ken Saro-Wiwa after his killing and these poems can also be found in their collections; many others wrote new poems for this book.

Themes include: Ken Saro-Wiwa: the Legacy - Freedom of expression; resistance (literary and otherwise); imprisonment; non-violence; political oppression; leadership.

Social and Ecological Justice: Minority rights - exile/displacement/refugees; war, peace, poverty, justice; equity; the death penalty; pollution; climate change; the right to appropriate/sustainable development; power (and the abuse thereof); capitalism and corporations.

All Remember Saro-Wiwa, all remember how much
the struggle of the Ogoni people, align with their own

PLATFORM, co-ordinators of Remember Saro-Wiwa said, "What greater tribute to Ken Saro-Wiwa's vision, art and politics than to create a book of 100 poems by international writers inspired by him. Dance the Guns to Silence will fly off the shelves into the hands of all who care about writing, liberty, environment and justice."

Editors Nii Ayikwei Parkes and Kadija Sesay, members of the African Writers Abroad PEN Centre, decided that it would be fitting for African writers to commemorate Ken Saro-Wiwa, a poet, dramatist and essayist with such a tribute. They intend to go one step further with this remembrance by asking people to make this the biggest selling poetry book in the UK, this year.

Editors, Nii Parkes and Kadija Sesay said, "It’s not difficult. You can help us by coming to the launch and buying the book, order it on online, any major bookstore, or independent bookstore or order it from our websites. We are encouraging, poetry lovers and people committed to ethical giving at Christmas time to buy a copy of this book. It is published on recycled paper and all royalties go to the Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation."

The launch of Dance the Guns to Silence, takes place on 10 November 2005 with readings from some of the poets in the book, including John Lyons, Jack Mapanje, Sarah Maguire, Rommi Smith and Steve Tasane. Plus special guest readers to be confirmed. (Venue and time tbc, check the events page for updates).

Remember Saro-Wiwa is a coalition of organisations and individuals, initiated and co-ordinated by PLATFORM.

African Writers Abroad is part of this coalition. For more information on the book, the launch event, images and review copies contact African Writers Abroad.

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