Statement of Solidarity with Cuban poet Nancy Morejón from The International Union of Left Publishers
Nancy Morejón is an internationally recognized poet, translator, and academic. (Photo: T. Charles Erickson)
We, the International Union of Left Publishers (IULP), denounce the decision of the organizers of the Paris Poetry Market (Marché de la Poésie) to withdraw the status of honorary president from Cuban poet, essayist, and intellectual Nancy Morejón, who is considered to be one of the most significant voices in contemporary Cuban literature.
Winner of the island's National Culture Prize and deserving of the highest awards for her work -both inside and outside Cuba- Morejón had been named this year’s honorary president of the Poetry Market, a major literary event that has been held consecutively in the French capital since 1983. However, following the spurious complaints of Jacobo Machover, a well known Cuban-French writer who has used his platform to attack the Cuban Revolution and the achievements of the Cuban people throughout his career, and under pressure from the French Pen Club, the organizers of the event released a statement withdrawing her distinction, claiming this decision is taken in defense of “all forms of liberty, creation, opinion, and expression.”
The stark hypocrisy of the organizers of the Poetry Market is clear. Not only does this decision go against all principles of freedom of expression and of ideas, it capitulates to right-wing demands for censorship, it also legitimizes the systemic attacks of the US, Europe, and the interests of global capitalism on Cuban culture and society.
We, the IULP, offer our support and solidarity to the poet Nancy Morejón and to all the Cuban writers and artists who, together with their people, stand strong and with dignity in the face of the systemic attacks of US imperialism and its European partners. We celebrate the example of the Cuban literary tradition, one that is rich with ideas and proposals for a transformed world in which all of humanity can thrive.
1804 Books (US)
Batalla de Ideas (Argentina)
Brigada para Leer en Libertad (México)
Dogma Editorial (México)
Editorial Caminos (Cuba)
Editorial Combatiente (Perú)
Editorial El Colectivo (Argentina)
Editorial Incendiar el océano (México)
EPO (Belgium)
Estrella Roja (Venezuela)
Expressão Popular (São Paulo)
Fondo de Cultura Economica (México)
Fondo Editorial Casa de las Americas (Cuba)
Fundacion Editorial El Perro y la Rana (Venezuela)
Ganoprakashan (Bangladesh)
Instituto Simon Bolivar (Venezuela)
Kriya Madhyama (India)
La Fogata Editorial (Colombia)
Leftword Books (India)
Manifest Libres (Catalunya)
Marjin Kiri (Indonesia)
Monte Avila Editores Latinoamericana (Venezuela)
Naked Punch (Pakistan)
Navatelangana Publishing House (India)
Navayug Prakashan (India)
Nila Ediciones (Venezuela)
Sociedad de Escritoras y Escritores de Chile (Chile)
Vaam Prakashan (India)
Vadell Hermanos Editores (Venezuela)
Založba/*cf (Slovenia)
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