Amanuel Asrat (born 1971)[1] is an Eritrean poet and former editor-in-chief of Addis Zemen.[2]

A graduate of the University of Asmara, he is "largely credited for the Eritrean poetry resurgence of the early 2000s", as reported by The Guardian.[3] In 2001, Amanuel together with two colleagues set up a grassroots literary club, and similar clubs were soon established across the country.[1][3]

Asrat was arrested on 23 September 2001, along with 16 other journalists that year in the wake of a crackdown on the press in Eritrea, and is believed to be detained in a maximum security prison, although his whereabouts and state of health remain unknown.[4][5][6]

In 2016, he was the recipient of an Oxfam Novib/PEN Award, accepted on his behalf by Eritrean-born Dutch journalist Habtom Yohannes.[7]

In 2020, poet and activist Linton Kwesi Johnson, who was that year's winner of the PEN Pinter Prize (launched in 2009 by English PEN, a charity that defends freedom of expression and celebrates literature, in memory of playwright Harold Pinter),[8][9] named Asrat as the "International Writer of Courage" with whom he chose to share the award.[10][6][11]

Awards

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Eritrean Poet and Journalist Amanuel Asrat Receives Oxfam Novib/ PEN Awards for Freedom of Expression". PEN Eritrea. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  2. ↑ "PENWrites: Amanuel Asrat". English PEN. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  3. 1 2 Zere, Abraham T (19 August 2015). "'If we don't give them a voice, no one will': Eritrea's forgotten journalists, still jailed after 14 years". The Guardian.
  4. ↑ "Amanuel Asrat: Zemen | Imprisoned in Eritrea | September 2001". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  5. ↑ "Campaigns: Amanuel Asrat | Amanuel Asrat was an award-winning poet, song-writer and newspaper editor". Amnesty International. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  6. 1 2 Flood, Alison (13 October 2020). "Eritrean poet Amanuel Asrat named International Writer of Courage". The Guardian.
  7. ↑ "World Poetry Day: take action for poet Amanuel Asrat". English PEN. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  8. ↑ Cowdrey, Katherine (7 July 2020). "'Living legend' Linton Kwesi Johnson wins PEN Pinter Prize 2020". The Bookseller. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  9. ↑ "Linton Kwesi Johnson awarded PEN Pinter Prize 2020". English PEN. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  10. ↑ Cowdrey, Katherine (5 October 2020). "Eritrean poet Asrat named 2020's International Writer of Courage". The Bookseller. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  11. ↑ Peterson, Angeline (27 October 2020). "Imprisoned Eritrean Poet Amanuel Asrat Honored as Co-Winner of the 2020 PEN Pinter Prize". Brittle Paper. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  12. ↑ "2016 Oxfam Novib/PEN Awards for Freedom of Expression". PEN International. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  13. ↑ "Eritrean poet Amanuel Asrat honoured with International Writer of Courage". The Indian Express. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  14. ↑ "Eritrean Poet Amanuel Asrat Named International Writer of Courage by Harriet Staff". Poetry Foundation. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
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