There was a digital diary that won an award in 2001 by a woman called
Acanit, the journal was called, "The Sex Pistols Are Alive and Well
and Living in Shohastenango..." My question is, where can I get the
text for this diary? And who and where is Acanit these days?

Hello.

Much of the text of Acanit's journal is still available courtesy of
the Internet Wayback Machine at archive.org:
http://web.archive.org/web/20011127035010/www.geocities.com/acanit/

Not all of the web pages are in the archive, though, but many are. 
Try the various links on the page above, and you'll see that some of
the diary entries are archived, such as:
http://web.archive.org/web/20011116183400/www.geocities.com/acanit/101901.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20011127040035/www.geocities.com/acanit/102701.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20011116185108/www.geocities.com/acanit/102601.html

Acanit has a biography on this page:
"All about Acanit"
http://web.archive.org/web/20001017145051/www.geocities.com/acanit/index.html

--------

search strategy:
archive.org, www.geocities.com/acanit

I hope this helps.

Thank you juggler! It seems like my subject is a modern day Heraclitus
of sorts... and you were able to find a very good answer! Highly
recommended!

Hi dakusaso,

The only information I was able to find on Acanit is that in 2001 she
was 29 years old. She was originally Iranian, living in the US, after
a decade of living in the Middle East and Africa. From the information
I was able to gather, it appears she may have passed away.

Unfortunately, I have not located the text of her diary.

"I'm a 29 year old Iranian-American who recently returned to the US
after a decade in the Middle East and Africa. This journal is about my
memories, readjusting to life in America, and a few clumsy attempts at
creative non-fiction."

wood s lot - october 1-15, 2001
http://www.ncf.ca/~ek867/2001_10_01_archives.html


"The Sex Pistols Are Alive And Well and Living in Sohatsenang 
Acanit's site. Reminisces, stories, and thoughts. She's a young,
beautiful Iranian-American woman who has led an extremely interesting
life and writes about it so well. This is not your usual journal.
(11/28/01) But now she's gone and I'm sorry. Read her archives!"

First Person Particular: Journals
http://journalalia.com/fpp/journals.html


The title of the diary is clickable, however when you do click on it,
the page is no longer available.

http://www.geocities.com/acanit/  


Since I was unable to locate the diary for you, I am posting this as a
comment. If, however, you feel it is sufficient, please let me know
and I will post it as an official answer.

Regards,
Rainbow

dakusaso:
Thank you for the tip.
-juggler

Greetings, dakusaso!

Here's some more for you, on possible reasons for the discontinuation
of Acanit's journal:

From the "Adventures in Tashkent" blog, on November 21, 2001:
"Acanit is talking about taking down her journal, "The Sex Pistols are
Alive and Well and Living in Sohatsenango (and other memoirs)" so
everyone go read it while you still can. Her entries are an impressive
act of turning pain into art, and if you read chronologically you can
also see a damaged soul begin to heal. This is a journal that will
change you."
http://web.archive.org/web/20011216183353/http://tashkent.diaryland.com/011119_23.html

From David Grenier's blog on November 27, 2001:
"Links of the Day
Looks like Acanit's gone and fallen herself in loooove..."
http://davidgrenier.weblogger.com/2001/11/27

From Jo's Revolution blog on montyclift.com, on November 28, 2001:
"I can't help but think of related injustices, though. Did you know
that the journal of Acanit, an Iranian born American woman whose
journal I adore, was summarily deleted off her server on September
11th? She received a curt message telling her that it was no longer
appropriate for them to be doing business with her..."
http://www.montyclift.com/jo/0111/011128.html

"The Hell On Olga's Head", by Acanit, also on November 28, 2001:
http://web.archive.org/web/20011129035608/www.geocities.com/acanit
(apparently they were forced to reinstate her blog, at least for a time)

From Amy Brown's blog on November 29, 2001:
"Acanit stopped writing. What a pisser. I was really looking forward
to reading all about her and her new relationship, and how she's
adjusting to life in Minnesota, and whether she got a job, and stuff.
She has such a great eye for detail and her sparkling prose brought
her stories to life. But no more..."
http://www.latte.ca/~arbrown/journal/archives/0111/29.html

From the "Postcards from LA" blog, written by Tamar on April 12, 2004:
"I remember a wonderful writer, Acanit, who posted an online journal
in 2001 as a former TV journalist, an Iranian living in America. The
photos on her site showed she was a knockout. That right there made
people suspicious, I think. And she wrote about difficult things and
also about sex (which of course garners attention). Her stories were
almost too perfect, some people said. As if they were written rather
than lived. Created from someone?s imagination. And then one day she
pulled her site down and she was gone. She had reasons, a love affair
she didn?t want to talk about, but a lot of people said her cover was
about to blow and so she got out quick.

I always wondered. They all seemed so certain, her critics. But what
if they were wrong?..."
http://www.postcardsfromla.com/blog/archives/cat_links.html

Regards,

aceresearcher