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Article Title: The Traveling of the Olympic Torch along with Shi's Poem "June" and its translation into Various Languages as it Traverses the Globe
Author: Arthur Edgar E. Smith
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The Traveling of the Olympic Torch along with Shi's Poem "June" and its translation into Various Languages as it Traverses the Globe <br> Article By: Arthur Edgar E. Smith <br><br> The International PEN Poem Relay website was launched, March 25 as the Olympic Torch was being lit and as it was starting its journey across Greece towards Athens. At the same time Shi's poem 'June" virtually left Taiyuan City, Shi Tao's hometown and traveled to Greece. On March 30, the poem arrived at Greek PEN Centre (at the same time the Olympic Torch arrived in Panathinaiko Stadium in Greece). This relay follows as far as possible the track of the Olympic torch but unlike it, it has not generated so much fuss and controversy, for this one is focused around the poem "June" by the imprisoned Chinese poet and journalist Shi Tao and though it may draw as much attention if not more than the torch it does not seek to do so by being disruptive nor competitive. PEN Centres around the world have translated and recorded "June" in more than 90 languages including krio, Yoruba, Ibo, Hausa, Swahili, Lingala and, through the internet, the poem is now virtually traveling around the world, from centre to centre, language to language, adding new translations as it goes ending in Beijing to coincide with the start of the 2008 Olympics in August. Translators and poets at PEN centres around the world have used the spirit of the Olympics to bring to life Shi Tao's message in the languages of the world,' As the poem spreads from language to language, it spreads PEN's concern for freedom of expression in China and the writers who are languishing in its jails. Through a map of the world the special website www.penpoemrelay.org shows the progress of the poem relay, which takes its cue from the Olympic Torch Relay itinerary. Through clicking at a country on the world map on the site you will be alerted to the arrival of the pen poem relay in that country. . On its arrival in Sierra Leone on Sunday 13th of April visitors to the site read and listened to the poem in krio and learnt about the work of PEN in Sierra Leone as well as other African countries like Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Somalia and the Afar Speaking Peoples. The troubles of Shi Tao who is serving a 10-year sentence in prison came through the advanced technology used to monitor, survey and track down those suspected of violating Chinese laws by exercising their freedom of expression on the internet. He was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for "revealing state secrets abroad". For in April 2004, Shi Tao had taken notes on a document read aloud at an editorial meeting of the Dangdai Shangbao (Contemporary Commerce News) issued by China's Propaganda Department instructing the media on how to cover the 15th anniversary of the military crackdown on June 4, 1989 in Beijing shutting down the Tiananmen Square protests at which he was present..He sent those notes to an overseas website using a Yahoo! email account. According to court documents, Yahoo! (Hong Kong) Holdings Ltd provided the Chinese authorities with Shi Tao's identity. The poem 'June' written on June 9, 2004, shortly after the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests and just three months after Shi Tao sent that email.meditates on the tragedy of the military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests in June 4, 1989, which remains a censored topic in China. Visitors to the website track the poem's progress around the globe, reading and listening to new translations as the poem arrives at each new centre. The poem has been translated into more than 90 languages including Adnyamathanha, one of Australia's Indigenous languages; Wolof, one of the most widely spoken languages in Senegal;krio a language widely spoken in Sierra Leone as well as being intelligible across much of West Africa;Tamazight, a Berber language spoken in Algeria, Morocco, Niger, Mali and Libya; Basque; Uyhgur; Tibetan; Chechen; in addition to major languages such as Japanese, Russian and others. The translation of this poem into the world's languages is a testament to PEN's concern for Shi Tao, to its concern for the many other writers in prison in China, and to its respect for the Chinese people and their literary creativity, says Chip Rolley, translator of the poem to English and one of the organizers of the relay. In the spirit of the Olympics and the international cooperation it embodies, Shi Tao's poem ˜June" is a torch in its own right, said Swiss German PEN's Kristin Schnider, also one of the organizers.. It's a light for freedom of expression, the celebration of poetry and linguistic diversity, and a beacon for writers who are under pressure or imprisoned. On April 6, the poem arrived at English, Scottish, Irish, Norwegian, Swedish and Icelandic PEN centres with translations and recordings in Gaelic, Scots, Scottish Gaelic, New Norwegian (Nynorsk), Regular Norwegian (Bokmal), Icelandic, Swedish, Persian (from a member of Swedish PEN), Welsh, and English (recited by actress Juliet Stevenson, perhaps best known for her role as Keira Knightley's mother in the movie Bend It Like Beckham). The poem has visited over 70 locations throughout Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East, and centres and recordings have been posted. Centres and locations visited so far include: Greek, Austrian, German Speaking Writers Abroad, Polish, Czech, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatian, Central Asian, Turkish, Kurdish, Chechen Writers, Slovak, Serbian, Macedonian, Slovene, Romanian, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian,and Finnish Centres, and Almaty, Kazakhstan, India, Maaysia (to coincide with the Beijing Olympic Torch). As the poem arrives at each centre, more voices are added to those from all parts of the world in calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all writers and journalists currently imprisoned and, appealing for the Chinese authorities to put an end to the practice of detaining, harassing, and censoring their writers and journalists so that that great Chinese culture will continue to flourish proudly alongside the freedom-loving cultures of this fastly modernizing and liberalizing world. According to Yu Zhang, of Independent Chinese PEN Centre, another organizer, as long as Shi Tao and other writers and journalists on PEN's case list are still behind bars, his poem ˜June" will continue to be a reminder of the reality behind the Beijing Olympic motto ˜One World, One Dream." The relay is now on the south east Asian flank traversing India,and Malaysia. Is been eagerly awaited in Australia, another organizing centre. The Australian leg will include translations into Aboriginal and other languages <br><br> Original Article URL: <a href='http://www.myfreearticlecentral.com/Article_9820_The-Traveling-of-the-Olympic-Torch-along-with-Shis-Poem-June-and-its-translation-into-Various-Langua.aspx'>The Traveling of the Olympic Torch along with Shi's Poem &quot;June&quot; and its translation into Various Languages as it Traverses the Globe</a> <br><br> Arthur E Smith a Senior Lecturer at Fourah Bay College, from which he holds a Masters in African Literature has taught English at various institutions. He participated in a seminar on contemporary American Literature sponsored by the U.S. State Department in 2006 and was made Honourable Citizen Louisville. His thoughts and reflections on this trip could be read at www.lisnews.org and ezinearticles.com His other publications include: Folktales From Freetown, Langston Hughes: Life and Works Celebrating Black Dignity, and 'The Struggle of the Book in Sierra Leone' <br><br>



Plain Text Version:
The Traveling of the Olympic Torch along with Shi's Poem "June" and its translation into Various Languages as it Traverses the Globe Article By: Arthur Edgar E. Smith The International PEN Poem Relay website was launched, March 25 as the Olympic Torch was being lit and as it was starting its journey across Greece towards Athens. At the same time Shi's poem 'June" virtually left Taiyuan City, Shi Tao's hometown and traveled to Greece. On March 30, the poem arrived at Greek PEN Centre (at the same time the Olympic Torch arrived in Panathinaiko Stadium in Greece). This relay follows as far as possible the track of the Olympic torch but unlike it, it has not generated so much fuss and controversy, for this one is focused around the poem "June" by the imprisoned Chinese poet and journalist Shi Tao and though it may draw as much attention if not more than the torch it does not seek to do so by being disruptive nor competitive. PEN Centres around the world have translated and recorded "June" in more than 90 languages including krio, Yoruba, Ibo, Hausa, Swahili, Lingala and, through the internet, the poem is now virtually traveling around the world, from centre to centre, language to language, adding new translations as it goes ending in Beijing to coincide with the start of the 2008 Olympics in August. Translators and poets at PEN centres around the world have used the spirit of the Olympics to bring to life Shi Tao's message in the languages of the world,' As the poem spreads from language to language, it spreads PEN's concern for freedom of expression in China and the writers who are languishing in its jails. Through a map of the world the special website www.penpoemrelay.org shows the progress of the poem relay, which takes its cue from the Olympic Torch Relay itinerary. Through clicking at a country on the world map on the site you will be alerted to the arrival of the pen poem relay in that country. . On its arrival in Sierra Leone on Sunday 13th of April visitors to the site read and listened to the poem in krio and learnt about the work of PEN in Sierra Leone as well as other African countries like Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Somalia and the Afar Speaking Peoples. The troubles of Shi Tao who is serving a 10-year sentence in prison came through the advanced technology used to monitor, survey and track down those suspected of violating Chinese laws by exercising their freedom of expression on the internet. He was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for "revealing state secrets abroad". For in April 2004, Shi Tao had taken notes on a document read aloud at an editorial meeting of the Dangdai Shangbao (Contemporary Commerce News) issued by China's Propaganda Department instructing the media on how to cover the 15th anniversary of the military crackdown on June 4, 1989 in Beijing shutting down the Tiananmen Square protests at which he was present..He sent those notes to an overseas website using a Yahoo! email account. According to court documents, Yahoo! (Hong Kong) Holdings Ltd provided the Chinese authorities with Shi Tao's identity. The poem 'June' written on June 9, 2004, shortly after the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests and just three months after Shi Tao sent that email.meditates on the tragedy of the military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests in June 4, 1989, which remains a censored topic in China. Visitors to the website track the poem's progress around the globe, reading and listening to new translations as the poem arrives at each new centre. The poem has been translated into more than 90 languages including Adnyamathanha, one of Australia's Indigenous languages; Wolof, one of the most widely spoken languages in Senegal;krio a language widely spoken in Sierra Leone as well as being intelligible across much of West Africa;Tamazight, a Berber language spoken in Algeria, Morocco, Niger, Mali and Libya; Basque; Uyhgur; Tibetan; Chechen; in addition to major languages such as Japanese, Russian and others. The translation of this poem into the world's languages is a testament to PEN's concern for Shi Tao, to its concern for the many other writers in prison in China, and to its respect for the Chinese people and their literary creativity, says Chip Rolley, translator of the poem to English and one of the organizers of the relay. In the spirit of the Olympics and the international cooperation it embodies, Shi Tao's poem ˜June" is a torch in its own right, said Swiss German PEN's Kristin Schnider, also one of the organizers.. It's a light for freedom of expression, the celebration of poetry and linguistic diversity, and a beacon for writers who are under pressure or imprisoned. On April 6, the poem arrived at English, Scottish, Irish, Norwegian, Swedish and Icelandic PEN centres with translations and recordings in Gaelic, Scots, Scottish Gaelic, New Norwegian (Nynorsk), Regular Norwegian (Bokmal), Icelandic, Swedish, Persian (from a member of Swedish PEN), Welsh, and English (recited by actress Juliet Stevenson, perhaps best known for her role as Keira Knightley's mother in the movie Bend It Like Beckham). The poem has visited over 70 locations throughout Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East, and centres and recordings have been posted. Centres and locations visited so far include: Greek, Austrian, German Speaking Writers Abroad, Polish, Czech, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatian, Central Asian, Turkish, Kurdish, Chechen Writers, Slovak, Serbian, Macedonian, Slovene, Romanian, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian,and Finnish Centres, and Almaty, Kazakhstan, India, Maaysia (to coincide with the Beijing Olympic Torch). As the poem arrives at each centre, more voices are added to those from all parts of the world in calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all writers and journalists currently imprisoned and, appealing for the Chinese authorities to put an end to the practice of detaining, harassing, and censoring their writers and journalists so that that great Chinese culture will continue to flourish proudly alongside the freedom-loving cultures of this fastly modernizing and liberalizing world. According to Yu Zhang, of Independent Chinese PEN Centre, another organizer, as long as Shi Tao and other writers and journalists on PEN's case list are still behind bars, his poem ˜June" will continue to be a reminder of the reality behind the Beijing Olympic motto ˜One World, One Dream." The relay is now on the south east Asian flank traversing India,and Malaysia. Is been eagerly awaited in Australia, another organizing centre. The Australian leg will include translations into Aboriginal and other languages Original Article URL: http://www.myfreearticlecentral.com/Article_9820_The-Traveling-of-the-Olympic-Torch-along-with-Shis-Poem-June-and-its-translation-into-Various-Langua.aspx Arthur E Smith a Senior Lecturer at Fourah Bay College, from which he holds a Masters in African Literature has taught English at various institutions. He participated in a seminar on contemporary American Literature sponsored by the U.S. State Department in 2006 and was made Honourable Citizen Louisville. His thoughts and reflections on this trip could be read at www.lisnews.org and ezinearticles.com His other publications include: Folktales From Freetown, Langston Hughes: Life and Works Celebrating Black Dignity, and 'The Struggle of the Book in Sierra Leone'

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