NEW YORK - September 21 - The American Civil Liberties Union, PEN American Center and the Cooper Union will present Reckoning with Torture: Memos and Testimonies from the "War on Terror," an evening of readings calling attention to acts of torture and abuse carried out by the United States under the Bush administration. The event, featuring a former CIA officer, a former senior military interrogator, writers and artists, will take place on Tuesday, October 13 at 7:00 p.m. EDT at Cooper Union's Great Hall in New York City.

WHAT:
Reckoning with Torture: Memos and Testimonies from the "War on Terror," an evening of readings from recently released secret documents that have brought these abuses to light - memos, declassified communications and testimonies by detainees.

WHO:

• Opening and closing remarks from Anthony Appiah, President of PEN American Center and Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project;

• Readings by authors Paul Auster, Don DeLillo, Eve Ensler and Art Spiegelman; Matthew Alexander, former U.S. interrogator and author of How to Break a Terrorist; Jack Rice, former CIA officer and Amrit Singh, Senior Legal Officer for the National Security and Counterterrorism program at the Open Society Justice Initiative;

• Special presentation by artist Jenny Holzer.

WHEN:
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
7:00 p.m. EDT

WHERE:
The Great Hall at Cooper Union
7 East 7th Street at Third Avenue
New York, NY

ADMISSION:
$15/$10 for PEN/ACLU members and students with a valid ID. Tickets are available through www.smarttix.com or (212) 868-4444. They may also be purchased at the door. Seating is by general admission, on a first-come, first-served basis. For press inquiries, please contact the ACLU.