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Travellin’ Man
Airports always pour a nice shot. Something about being that close to distance makes bartenders understand suffering. That Thursday he was headed fourteen cities away from anyone he knew… More
Freedom Begins at Home
The U.S. government remains leery of having the lens of global scrutiny over human rights practices trained on its own conduct. While the State Department's report on country performance… More
Obama’s Surveillance State
The trauma of the wrongly accused is not the only damage wrought by massive and intrusive surveillance; these programs may also harm those who are watched accidentally and mindlessly… More
Looking for Transwonderland
Noo Saro-Wiwa on a harrowing and humorous visit to a dog show in Ibadan in her moving memoir, Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria. More
PEN Protests Shocking NSA Phone Surveillance
PEN American Center President Peter Godwin called the surveillance “a shocking intrusion” that “underscores our worst fears that the U.S. government has veered off the rails in its understanding… More
Will the Armies of Censorship Wear Flip Flops?
At Facebook, a legion of flip flop-wearing staff are on the front lines of free expression battles. Is this a good thing? More
Beauty and Truth
Long before I became a writer, I knew one day I would tell the story of my family during the Khmer Rouge regime. Even in the midst of that… More
A.M. Homes Wins Women’s Prize for Fiction
Today PEN America extends a hearty and booming congratulations to longtime member and festival participant A.M. Homes, whose most recent novel, May We be Forgiven, was just awarded the… More
New Approach Needed in Leak Investigations
PEN American Center warns that overzealous investigations in the U.S. threaten press freedom and free expression abroad as well. More
Three Poems by Aracelis Girmay
I wanted you to, Mother, / never let me free. I am home again, // if I lay on my side beside / the sleeping wolves, once men— //… More