Jen Percy on Self-Preservation, Playing Dead, and Writing About Gendered Violence

Jen Percy on Self-Preservation, Playing Dead, and Writing About Gendered Violence

The first time I encountered Jen Percy’s work she was reading it herself, in Iowa City, in a subterranean venue at a graduate students reading series called Anthology. The essay involved a guinea pig, one I can still picture in my head. Jen is that kind of writer; her prose is indelible. She was finishing an MFA in creative nonfiction at the time, and later finished another in fiction, and later still she reported from Afghanistan and Iraq. She …

Three Citizens Arrested for Writing About the Self-Immolation of an Ahvazi Vendor

HRANA – Following the self-immolation of Ahmad Baldi, a 20-year-old student and street vendor from Ahvaz who set himself on fire in protest against the demolition of his family’s kiosk by municipal agents, three citizens have been arrested for writing about his situation on social media. According to a report by HRANA, at least three individuals have been detained in Ahvaz. HRANA has identified them as Hassan Salamat, Javad Saedi, and Seyed Sade…