Event
Rotten Evidence: Reading and Writing in Prison
New York
Thursday, July 25, 2019
7:00 pm
apexart
291 Church Street
New York, NY
How do prisoners kill time in prison? Why do kids become fanatic terrorists in Egyptian jails? What books can and can't you read in prison? How do you hide your written novel inside one’s body? Don't you agree that Dostoevsky is a funny writer? What is the difference between books that British embassy give to its people and books the American embassy give?
Join us for a discussion exploring all of these questions and more, with Egyptian novelist and journalist Ahmed Naji. Naji, who was the 2016 winner of the PEN/Barbey Freedom To Write Award, was formerly sentenced to two years in prison when a literary magazine published a chapter of his novel. Come hear about how and why he continued to write in prison, and his new novel, which features illustrations by Yassin Mohamed.
A reception will follow the event.
This event is presented in collaboration with apexart and ARC, in conjunction with Occupational Hazards, an apexart open call exhibition curated by Alexandra Stock and made possible thanks to the generous support of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.