Enoh Meyomesse poetry e-Book published by English PEN

Enoh Meyomesse poetry e-Book published by English PEN

To mark this year’s Day of the Imprisoned Writer, English PEN is delighted to be publishing a crowd-sourced translation of Poème Carcéral : Poésie du pénitencier de Kondengui, a powerful collection of poems by Cameroonian writer and activist Enoh Meyomesse

Download Enoh Meyomesse poetry e-Book.

On 27 December 2012, Enoh Meyomesse was sentenced to seven years in prison on charges that are widely believed to be politically motivated. English PEN considers his incarceration to be in violation of his right to free expression and is calling for his immediate and unconditional release.

In April 2013, Meyomesse’s lawyers succeeded in having his case referred to a civil court for appeal. The Court of Appeal was due to call him for the first time on 20 June, but the hearing has since been postponed several times. As a result, Meyomesse has spent a further five months in prison. In spite of this, he remains in good spirits and continues to write prolifically, despite having been denied access to the computer room, and is greatly encouraged by English PEN’s ongoing support.

In order to raise much-needed funds for Enoh Meyomesse and his family and greater awareness of his case, English PEN has been working with some fantastic volunteer translators on a crowd-sourced translation of his prison poetry. The collection, Jail Verse: Poems from Kondengui Prison, is now (febr. 2014) available to download.

You can download the e-book for free, but we’d be hugely grateful if you are able to donate £5, or whatever you can afford. All proceeds will be used to support Enoh Meyomesse and his family, and the ongoing work of our Writers at Risk Programme.

(NB. A print-on-demand version will be available very soon. If you would like to be notified once it is, please email cat@englishpen.org)

 

Enoh Meyomesse

From the poem: The earth had stopped turning

(…)

Despair

you visited me during that day

and the black night,

without stars without moonbeams

without fireflies without future

you could cut it with a machete

like the night when

my feet

lost their way behind

the village hut

I, who surrendered there beneath the cocoa trees

where the elephant rots

oh God in heaven

inky

          darkness

                    beat down on me

(…)

Translated by Grace Hetherington

 

#Download here your copy! #Visit website English  PEN

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