Shahrazad - Stories for life

Guest Writer, Casa Refugio Hankili Africa, Mexico City

2011-Present

Bertrand Teyou's writing has always tested the boundaries of free speech in Cameroon, often addressing serious societal problems in his homeland and being threatened with censorship and violence as a result. His primary publishing company, the Free National Publishing House, was destroyed during one such attack.

In November 2010, Teyou was imprisoned after reading aloud selections from his book, Beauty of the Banana Republic, during a public event. He was charged with defaming the wife of Cameroon's president, Chantal Biya. From prison, Teyou said this about his work: "This book is an expression of my dissatisfaction with what is happening in Cameroon, especially with the macabre system which allows Chantal Biya to have a free hand to treat the people around her with extreme cruelty." Teyou received a sentence of two years in jail and a large fine and copies of his book were seized. In February 2011, Teyou began a hunger strike in protest of inhumane conditions at the New Bell jail in Douala. With his health deteriorating rapidly, PEN International was able to pay the fine and free Teyou from his imprisonment. A literature professor at the University of Bayreuth has also secured funds to print Beauty of the Banana Republic in Germany. Casa Refugio Hankili Africa has a proud history of supporting African writers and is delighted to welcome Teyou into its literary community.

Guest Writer, Århus City of Refuge 2010 - present

Tendai Frank Tagarira is from Zimbabwe. After publishing his book Trying to make sense of it in 2006, he had to flee Zimbabwe. Tagarira has since lived in Namibia, where he has published six books. No Zimbabwean publisher has been able to publish his work. You can visit his website here.

. . . is a pseudonym for a current ICORN Guest Writer whose identity cannot be revealed at this time. We hope that we will be able to present this person's real name and writing credentials in the near future. Please check back.

Guest writer, Kristiansand City of Refuge 2003 - 2005

Carlos Sherman was born in Uruguay, studied in Argentina and then moved to Belarus where his father came from. Sherman worked as a translator from Spanish into Belarusian and Russian. Moreover, he was a writer, human rights activist and vice president of the Belarusian PEN Center. In 2003 he arrived as an ICORN guest writer to Kristiansand, where he also died in 2005 at the age of 71 years.

Guest writer, Mexico City, City of Refuge 2009 - 2011

Poet, critic, essayist and journalist from Iraq. Hatem Abdulwahid is a member of the Arab Writers Union and the General Union of Iraqi Writers. Three collections of poetry have been published in Arabic, as well as articles, essays and commentaries in Arab newspapers and journals. From 2003 and onwards Saleh was threatened for his critical writings. He fled to Syria , then to Morocco, before reaching Mexico City's Casa Refugio that hosts guest writers.

Guest writer, Stockholm City of Refuge 2010 - present

Poet and performer Zurab Rtveliashvili is from Georgia. He was very active in the "Rose Revolution", 2003. Rtveliashvili has been persecuted and arrested several times as a consequence of his performances. His works include I-Retsqia (1997), Apokrifi (2001) and Anarqi (2006). He has also featured in the documentary film At the top of my voice (2009).

Guest writer, Drøbak City of Refuge 2010 - present

As a self-learned cartoonist in Bangladesh, Arifur Rahman worked for one of the biggest newspapers. He was arrested in 2007 for the sake of a cartoon for children of an old myth, which the Islamic Party of Bangladesh found controversial. After six months in prison, Rahman was released but still faced many difficulties and threats of being arrested again. In 2010 he arrived to Norway and Drøbak as the city's first ICORN guest writer.

. . is a pseudonym for a current ICORN Guest Writer whose identity cannot be revealed at this time. We hope that we will be able to present this person's real name and writing credentials in the near future. Please check back.