Was the ruling system in need of all the propaganda it made? A dictatorship such as this one grows up with propaganda, nourishes itself on shaping people’s consciousness, and fades when they stop believing it.
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January 25th: from a revolution, to a conspiracy, to a forbidden call
Five years on from the historic events of Tahrir Square, writer and psychiatrist Basma Abdel Aziz reflects on the many names of the Egyptian revolution, and her hopes for the future.
Read MoreTurning up the volume
Yasmine El Rashidi, contributor to the PEN-award-winning title Writing Revolution: The Voices from Tunis to Damascus, tells PEN Atlas about growing up learning English: exile and community, being alienated and finding her voice
Read MoreTranslation, Revolution, and Pedagogy
Following her appearance at the Literary Translation Centre for London Book Fair 2013, Samia Mehrez writes about working collaboratively on the book Translating Egypt’s Revolution: The Language of Tahrir, which uses multiple perspectives to translate the linguistic and cultural meanings of the momentous events in her country
Read MoreSelma Dabbagh reports from the Palestine Festival of Literature: Part 3
In her third PEN Atlas despatch, British Palestinian writer Selma Dabbagh reflects on Palfest, dealing with criticism, and what freedom feels like
Read MoreSelma Dabbagh reports from the Palestine Festival of Literature: Part 2
In this second PEN Atlas despatch from British Palestinian writer Selma Dabbagh, we are taken deeper into Gaza; into the streets, into darkness
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