马建本周五25号在英国皇家植物园Jodrell演讲厅,演讲关于言论自由。这是从作家和诗人的视角观察现代文学思想的生存困境。马建想提示英国文人,多元政治必然带来多元文化,因为政治本质是意识形态。那么接下来就是多元道德。我们信任的文明不但被撕裂,甚至人道主义都失去方向。在中国,民主自由和人权已经成为被嘲弄的贬意词。中国的崛起也正在向全球宣称:极权主义与控制思想自由是成功的统治方式。全球化已冲散了各种价值观念。文化、金融、传播娱乐等正在无意义地复制。那么,在这个复杂又恐惧的时代,谁来定义现代文明。

DATE Friday 25th September 2015

VENUE The Jodrell Lecture Theatre, Kew Gardens

CAPACITY 150

FEE £150. Please make out an invoice to Doughty St Chambers and send to Furhana

Mallick: [email protected] – cc’ing [email protected] .

TRANSPORT Because Kew Gardens is a large venue with multiple entrances, please inform me in

advance where you are coming from and when you intend to arrive so that I can

see you are met appropriately.

BACKGROUND Index On Censorship is an international organisation that promotes and defends

the right to freedom of expression. The inspiration of poet Stephen Spender, Index

was founded in 1972 to publish the untold stories of dissidents behind the Iron

Curtain. Today, we fight for free speech around the world, challenging censorship

whenever and wherever it occurs. We do this by reporting and monitoring to

expose and raise awareness of attacks on free speech, promoting events and

debate on free speech issues, and campaigning for real change in laws and policies.

Index on Censorship magazine was first published in 1972, and continues to be

published today as a quarterly subscription magazine. Since 1972, some of the

greatest names in literature and academia have written for the magazine, including

Nadine Gordimer, Mario Vargos Llosa, Amartya Sen, Samuel Beckett as well as

Arthur Miller and Harold Pinter. The magazine continues to attract great writers,

passionate arguments, and expose stories of censorship and violence.

Write on Kew is a brand new literary festival – the first ever – at Kew Gardens with

over 80 events across all genres, from fiction to science, children’s to cookery. It runs

from Thursday 24 to Sunday 27 September, speakers include Margaret Atwood, Louis

de Bernières, A S Byatt and Bill Bryson. All proceeds from the festival are going to

support Kew’s work as a botanical charity.

Doughty St Chambers are the hosts and funders of this event to whom we are

immensely grateful. Renowned for and committed to defending freedom and civil liberties,

Doughty St has chambers in London, Bristol and Manchester and a truly national and international

profile across its wide range of practice in criminal law, civil law, administrative and public law,

international law and human rights.

EVENT SCHEDULE

Arrivals

18:00 Latest arrival time*

* You are welcome to arrive earlier and enjoy Kew Gardens for free. Let me know if you would like to take up this opportunity.

Please note: This is the first year of the festival and Kew Gardens is a big venue with a number of

different entrances. The logistics are new to all of us, therefore please could we ask everyone to arrive on

time (or early) and to allow plenty of time for their journey. Please let me know when and where you

intend to arrive so that I can ensure you can be met.

19.00 ‘You Are A Big Man’ by Christie Watson – excerpt read by Janet Suzman.

19:08 ‘Mi Minor’ by Meltem Arikan – scenes read by Janet Suzman and Jennifer Lim

19:16 Actors exit. Authors and Jodie Ginsberg (chair) take seats onstage. Jodie Ginsberg

to thank actors and introduce authors.

19:18 Discussion, chaired by Jodie Ginsberg

A note from Jodie:

I am hoping for a free-flowing discussion between panellists sharing experiences of

censorship, of writing, thoughts on the role of authors, and the experience of writing in exile.

I will start by asking Meltem what inspired her to write her play and about the idea that

comedy is often what authoritarian governments find most difficult to deal with.

I then thought I might move on to ask Christie about the decision to write her piece in the

second person and the unusual experience it offers of seeing ‘into’ the minds of the ‘big men’

like Erdogan etc.

We could then move to a broader discussion about the role of the writer. There is a line in

Christie’s story in which the official says it is his responsibility “to force such images away” –

is it the role of the author to force such images into our minds?

Elif Shafak has talked about the role of the writer as a political role – do the panellists agree?

I would like to talk also about the impact of surveillance – Meltem’s play laughs at the idea

of the President personally listening to our calls but what do the authors think about the

encroaching surveillance on ordinary citizens? Does it impact their work?

After we’ve finally had Ma Jian’s piece I’d like to move on to talk about the experiences of

writing in exile or out of a country. What impact does that have?

19:40 ‘Darkness & Light’ by Ma Jian – excerpt read by Jennifer Lim

19: 50 Discussion continues

20:10 Thanks and close.

文章来源:马建提供

作者 editor