Amanuel Asrat

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. "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. 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. 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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