'Literature Needs Freedom—and Freedom Needs Literature'

A conversation with Ma Thida, acclaimed Burmese writer, former prisoner of conscience, and chair of PEN’s Writers in Prison Committee.

Portrait of Ma Thida by © Thomas Langdon (#Langdonpix)

By Michael Judge

It’s now been more than six months since Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested and detained by Russian authorities on espionage charges, allegations that Gershkovich, his family, the WSJ, and the U.S. government have vehemently denied. Gershkovich, 31, remains behind bars in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo prison. On Tuesday, a Moscow court rejected Gershkovich’s appeal against the extension of his pre-trial detention, with the judge ruling to “keep [the detention] without changes” until his Nov. 30 trial.

High-profile cases like Gershkovich’s—thankfully—make headlines that attract international attention. But, as Gulnoza Said of the Committee to Protect Journalists told TFP in April, and Diane Foley, mother of slain journalist James Foley and founder of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, told TFP in August, for every high-profile case like Gershkovich’s, there are many more around the globe that…