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PEN America Report Explores Pernicious Practice of Banning Books in Nation’s Prisons
"Literature offers a lifeline for incarcerated people in the midst of a dehumanizing system." More
Literature Locked Up: A Banned Books Week 2019 Reading List
As part of our "Literature Locked Up" campaign, PEN America presents a reading list of books that have been or are currently banned from prisons. More
Salman Rushdie and Marlon James Discuss Language, Reality, and Nostalgia at PEN Out Loud
"I want to go to work and think, okay, I've got a little thread to tug on. And I want to tug on it and see what is on… More
Two Poems by Jack Nancy
the first time I read Proust / it’s a booth in a diner, / a once-great American city / defiled under blue fluorescent blue, / over piles of pig… More
Imprisoning Russian Actor Is a Flagrant Violation of Fundamental Human Rights
“Pavel’s absurd sentence is a demonstration of the Russian government’s cruelty, and disregard for human dignity and the rule of law, even to the extent of refusing to… More
The PEN Ten: Jevon Jackson on Uncompromising Truth and What Makes for Good Narrative
"Good Narratives create a world that we can identify with, populated with people we can relate to, and regardless of the plot or the characters' journey . . .… More
PEN America Welcomes News that New York Public Library Will Not Host Saudi-Sponsored Event
“The New York Public Library has made the right choice to decline hosting this event sponsored by Saudi Arabia, in particular by a man whose government apparatus orchestrated the… More
Democracy, Disinformation, and the 2020 Threat: Recapping a PEN America Symposium
On September 17, PEN America and co-hosts convened a symposium in Washington, D.C., to examine the challenge digital disinformation poses to our democracy. More
From Near and Far: A PEN Out Loud Reading List
PEN America shares 21 novels and poetry collections that cross nations, genres, and identities in anticipation of our October PEN Out Loud event. More
“Paint the World with Words”: A PEN Ten Interview with Ibram X. Kendi
"Do not be shy about putting out new ideas, radically different ideas, ideas that turn the world upside down and right side up." More
Support for the freedom to read with exclusive designs by Todd Parr, Mike Curato, Art Spiegelman, and more!
