Mick Hartley

Following on from this post on Saw Wei and his recent arrest for criticising Power Crazy Senior General Than Shwe, the online magazine Anti- have produced a chapbook (pdf file) inspired by the Burmese poet. From editor A. J. Patrick Liszkiewicz’s introduction:

Than Shwe’s junta has long detained critics and dissidents for indefinite periods of time. But their methods do not stop at imprisonment. In September, 2007, Than Shwe’s troops opened fire on a peaceful, pro-democracy demonstration and killed more than thirty people, including several Buddhist monks who were leading the protests. It is unclear what will happen to Saw Wai, but with each day he spends in prison, it becomes clearer that his message is true.

Each of the twelve poets in this collection has attempted to remain faithful to that message, through acrostics, double acrostics, telestitches, and forms of their own invention. Some of their poems are fantastical and funny; some are quiet and personal. More than a few crackle with outrage. But all twelve poets understand, as Saw Wai does, that words are also actions, and that actions are a kind of words.

The poems, one way or another, echo Saw Wei’s acrostic message.