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PEN American Center Defies Chinese Government, Brings Ai Weiwei to New York
Nearly 200 writers, artists, and activists joined PEN American Center at Brooklyn Public Library last night to protest the Chinese government’s relentless efforts to undermine free expression. More
Concerto for Jerusalem
For so long I’ve begged bread to criticize salt. Many times, I’ve heard people ask me, whispering, “Why is death always late in Jerusalem, … More
Mapping Metaphors to Fight Surveillance
Over 62 days, PEN analyzed the use of metaphors in surveillance news coverage. We found that there is rich thematic diversity in the types of metaphors that are used,… More
Ilham Tohti on His Concerns Before His Detention
There is a lot of tension around here. In the past few days, I have been under constant surveillance by police vehicles and national security police officers. I have… More
PEN Condemns Alleged U.S. and UK Surveillance of Human Rights Organizations
PEN is deeply concerned about allegations by Edward Snowden that human rights organizations have been directly targeted by U.S. and UK spy agencies’ surveillance programs. More
“Welcome to the Errordome”: Are Editors Still Afraid of James Baldwin?
The film, Take This Hammer, contains moments of political commentary by Baldwin and by many black residents of the city at the time. Many comments focused on gentrification, the… More
In the Light of What We Know
My professional life has been spent in finance, a business concerned with fine points, such as the small movement in exchange rates on which the fate of millions of… More
Third Anniversary of Arrest: Calls for the Release of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja
On April 9, 2014, PEN joined 30 organizations in calling for the release of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, who was sentenced to life in prison three years ago by a military… More
My Ideals and the Career Path I Have Chosen
Han and Uyghur netizens have been talking past each other, with no opportunities to exchange views one-on-one and listen meaningfully to each other. More