Plea for Prisoners

We the undersigned express grave concern over the growing number of political arrests in Poland during the past weeks following the arrest of Zbigniew Bujak, the underground leader of Solidarity. We call for the release of all political prisoners in Poland; in particular, we ask for the release of Zbigniew Lewicki, head of the American literature department of Warsaw University, an eminent scholar, a passionate advocate of American letters and a friend, acquaintance and colleague of many of us.

The above letter, drafted at California State University, San Diego, was signed by the following writers and teachers from all over the United States: Walter Abish, John Ashbery, Stanislaw Baranczak, Donald Barthelme, Saul Bellow, Joseph Brodsky, Jerome Charyn, Robert Coover, Marcus Cunliffe, Stephen Dixon, E. L. Doctorow, Raymond Federman, Leslie Fiedler, William Gaddis, William Gass, Allen Ginsberg, Janusz Glowacki, Sinda Gregory, Ihab Hassan, Richard Howard, Irving Howe, John Irving, Harold Jaffe, Frederick R. Karl, Ken Kesey, Jerome Klinkowitz, Larry McCaffery, James McClintock, Joseph McElroy, Norman Mailer, Clarence Major, Peter Matthiessen, Harry Mathews, Leonard Michaels, Arthur Miller, Bradford Morrow, Joyce Carol Oates, Maggie Paley, Walker Percy, Robert Pinsky, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Michael Stephens, Rose Styron, William Styron, Ronald Sukenick, Calvin Tomkins, Frederic Tuten, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Anne Waldman, Paul West .