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Joint statement calling for the release of unlawfully detained Iranian poets and writers
The continuing persecution and prosecution of Iranian writers constitute clear violations of their freedom of speech, and freedom of conscience, as protected by Iran’s own laws and its legal… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Jamila Minnicks
Writers document and correct the record, both past and present. Language is a powerful choice of weapon because it preserves our history and frames our resistance. More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Deena Mohamed
To me, the function of speculative fiction and magical realism, the joy of inserting fantasy in mundane urban reality, is to consider the implications of how it might function… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Rešoketšwe Manenzhe
I think art, in general, is important for society, to nurture the softer aspects of what makes us human. More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Kimberly Nguyen
I believe that fiction is a mask, and the truth lurks somewhere underneath. More
On War and Cultural Erasure
PEN America President Ayad Akhtar reflects on the cultural destruction that has taken place in Ukraine at the hands of Russian Tsars and Soviet leaders. More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Kavita Das
I’ve encountered people who are unhappy and uncomfortable with the revelations in my work but they are usually interested in maintaining the status quo and so therefore are not… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Kristín Ómarsdóttir
I was inspired by our contemporary times and the growing possibility of this world's end. The story is told from some distance, from the future. It tells of events… More
As the Right Fights the Teaching of Race, A New AP Course Expands It
The history of academic freedom for LGBTQ educators and LGBTQ issues in the curriculum shows us that progress is not linear and that old ploys resurface in new guises. More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Cynthia Dewi Oka
To question something is to refuse its inevitability; to me that is one way we exercise our humanity in the face of inhumane conditions. More