The unreliability of preserving writing in any form seems apt: it is a physical reminder of writing's shaky, uncertain power. Sometimes words can change the world, but more often, the stark realities of an unjust world can fail to bend to even the most beautifully chosen words. In the face of long odds, the impulse to write and share words, in any…

During his career as the publisher of a Vietnamese newspaper, Yen Do would frequently buy articles from writers even if he never intended to use them--just because he knew how badly they needed the income. For that reason, Yen would sometimes pay a triple fee to freelance writers. And for the same reason, he typically wouldn't fire the occasional…