Fragment 5

Incarcerated writers- The Swiss writer Robert Walser was once visited in the lunatic asylum by a friend, who asked how his work was going. “I’m not here to write”, replied Walser, “but to be mad.”

-A Turkish writer is arrested and imprisoned for his work. Upon his arrival, he visits the prison library and asks the warden if they have a book by his favorite author. The warden laughs and says, “sorry, we don’t have the book, but we have the author, if you’d like to meet him?

-Antonio Gramsci, sentenced to 20 years in prison, was told by the judge, “we must keep this brain from working.” Five years and 33 notebooks later, Gramsci’s brain was still working.