The Bush Adminstration has given a stern warning to American publishers. Publishers will face grave legal consequences if they edit poetry from Iran (as well as Cuba, Libya, North Korea and other nations with which trade is banned) on the grounds that such editing amounts to "trading with the enemy." According to a recent advisory letter from the Treasury Department, Americans who publish poetry or prose from a country under a trade embargo are forbidden to do the following: reorder paragraphs or sentences, correct syntax or grammar, replace "inappropriate words," or add illustrations. Several major publishers, editors and translators were recently informed that, from now on, only publication of "camera-ready copies of manuscripts" would be allowed. For example, correcting typographical errors is punishable by a fine of up to $500,000 and 10 years in jail. A Treasury Department spokeswoman, Tara Bradshaw, explained that banned activities also included "collaboration on and editing of the manuscripts, the selection of reviewers, and facilitation of a review resulting in substantive enhancements or alterations to the manuscripts." Laws and regulations prohibiting trade with various nations generally apply to items like oil, wheat, nuclear reactors and even tourism, but now these laws apply to grammar, spelling and punctuation as well.

Since 1988, Congress has prohibited the executive branch from interfering "directly or indirectly" with the trade of literature or informational materials. This exception, known as the Berman Amendment, was sponsored by Representative Howard L. Berman (D). Referring to what he calls the Bush Administration's "very bizarre" interpretation of that amendment, Berman says, "It is directly contrary to the amendment and to the intent of the amendment. I also don't understand why it's not in our interest to get information into Iran."

Although there has been no prosecutions yet for "criminal editing," the mere fact that the rules exist have scared some publishers into rejecting works from Iran and other countries. From now on, publishers will need to get U.S. government permission to publish the work of poets who happen to live in countries with oppressive regimes. Although publishers may seek licenses from the government that would allow for some editing, First Amendment specialists are outraged, calling the new rule "censorship" and "a prior restraint."

In a recent New York Times article, Nahid Mozaffari, an editor specializing in literature from Iran, called the implications staggering: "A story, a poem, an article . . . or any other area of knowledge cannot be translated, and even if submitted in English, cannot be edited in the U.S. This means that the publication of the PEN Anthology of Contemporary Persian Literature that I have been editing for the last three years would constitute aiding and abetting the enemy." The Treasury's Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control does not dispute Mozaffari's assessment: "Such activity," according to a letter they sent in September, "would constitute the provision of prohibited services to Iran."

Story by C. J. Laity
ChicagoPoetry.com