It’s no secret that prisons monitor inmate communications, but Caits Meissner argues the public doesn’t know how extensive it can get. She recalls the anxiety she felt when PEN America’s handbook was released, fearful of the repercussions writers would face for penning about prison life. One writer who had won a PEN America contest had been removed from his job on the prison mental health board after he exposed the trouble brewing within. Read full article here
Research
Researcher uses AI to make texts that are thousands of years old readable
The Gilgamesh Epic, the oldest work of world literature, has been brought back to life by LMU researchers in the Electronic Babylonian Literature project. Using their new Fragmentarium tool, they have discovered hundreds of manuscripts, including the most recent tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic which dates from 130 BC – thousands of years after the earliest known version. This shows how highly valued the Epic was, even at a late period. With the public release of the Fragmentarium, anyone can now explore the thousands of cuneiform fragments and explore the ancient Babylonian literature. Read full article here
Merv
March 12, 2023
