Commentary by Philadelphia Poet and Burma Activist: Michelle Tooker As a poet, I often think about how I censor myself. What will my family think if I write a poem about a traumatic experience that happened in my childhood? How will my acquaintances react to my work? Will it negatively change people’s opinions of me? These are minor issues of self censorship that I can and always overcome, but what about the people of Burma? They must face censorship every day and the consequence for truly expressing their creativity is incarceration. But still, so many sacrifice their physical freedom in order to freely express themselves.
My goal in planning the Artists Against Censorship event, which served as the Philadelphia chapter's annual fundraiser, was to help bring the artists and writers in Burma one step closer to the creative freedom they deserve. The event showcased a diverse range of voices and was successful at raising awareness about Burma and the censorship issues occurring within the country. Both the performers and audience recognized that the very creative freedom they were expressing or witnessing cannot happen in Burma. Just knowing that was enough to leave everyone determined to help free the people of Burma.
A special thanks to Susan for helping to organize and plan the event, and Marj for donating the wonderful assortment of items from Burma and other countries that were used in the silent auction and also sold at the event. Thanks also to Rosemary for helping to assemble the raffle baskets and Todd for showing his support at the event. Thanks again to everyone who attended, participated in and helped to organize the event. We put Burma in the hearts and minds of many new people.
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