‘Guantanamo Diary’ Reading at Montclair State

Montclair State University will host a reading of 'Guantanamo Diary' on Monday, April 27.

Guantanamo Diary: A Reading and Conversation.

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Coming to the Kasser Theater on the campus of Montclair State University is Leonard Lopate Wallace Shawn as they host “Guantánamo Diary: A Reading and Conversation” on Monday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public, and will be presented by PEN American Center and Montclair State. It is an encore presentation of a sold-out New York City event, and is the only showing in New Jersey.

WNYC’s Leonard Lopate, actor Wallace Shawn and other noted writers are set to come together for a captivating reading and panel discussion of Mohamedou Ould Salhi’s just published diary, which is also the only account written by a current Guantanamo detainee.

According to an event release, “Guantánamo Diary is a first-hand account of imprisonment, torture and day-to-day human interactions in the world’s most infamous detention camp. Three years into his captivity, Slahi began a diary to recount both his life before he was seized by the United States and his experiences as a detainee. His diary is not merely a vivid record of a miscarriage of justice, but a deeply personal memoir—terrifying, darkly humorous, and surprisingly gracious. His attorneys fought for seven years to have the manuscript declassified and cleared for public release, yet some sections remained redacted in the published edition.”

Readers for the event include actor and playwright Wallace Shawn, New Yorker staff writer DT Max, short story writer Deborah Eisenberg and novelists Emily St. John Mandel, Joshua Ferris, Francine Prose and Elissa Schappell. WNYC’s Leonard Lopate will moderate a panel discussion with criminal defense attorney Nancy Hollander, and former PEN Freedom to Write director and Guantánamo Diary editor Larry Siems.

Tickets are free and can be reserved at: https://surveys.montclair.edu/survey/entry.jsp?id=1428357474503

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