Popular
Photo by C Brandon/Redferns for Getty Images.

Jamaican-British Poet Linton Kwesi Johnson Shares 2020 Literature Prize with Amanuel Asrat

This year's winner of the PEN Pinter Prize, Linton Kwesi Johnson, has awarded the 'International Writer of Courage' honour to Eritrean writer, Amanuel Asrat, who is still believed to be in prison after 19 years.

Veteran Jamaican-British poet Linton Kwesi Johnsonhas been awarded this year's PEN Pinter Prize with the judges having described him as a writer "whose impact on the cultural landscape over the last half century has been colossal and multi-generational". Johnson subsequently announced that he was sharing the prize with Eritrean writer and journalist Amanuel Asrat and awarding him with the "International Writer of Courage" honour. Johnson says this is an act of solidarity for Asrat who is still believed to be in a maximum prison following his arrest in 2001 although his exact whereabouts over the past 19 years remain unknown.

Keep reading...Show less

get okayafrica in your inbox

news.

popular.