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On Writing
A young student once wrote to the French novelist André Gide to ask him whether he should try to become a writer. “Only if you have to,” answered Gide,… More
British Author Alan Shadrake Loses Appeal
PEN International renews its call for the charges against British author Alan Shadrake to be dropped after his six-week prison sentence for contempt was upheld by the Court of… More
Saul Bellow, Allen Ginsberg, Nadine Gordimer, Salman Rushdie & Others
There has never been much rapport between government and art in the United States. The thing was set up only, on the political level, to create a kind of… More
Photocopies of Photocopies: On Bao Ninh
Bao Ninh, now living in Hanoi, became a novelist in the second half of his life. Until the age of forty, he served in the North Vietnamese Army, fighting… More
Najat El Hachmi: The Little One
Mimoun would have been a normal man if his childhood hadn’t been plagued by so many unusual incidents, the first being the order in which he was born. If… More
The 48th Congress of International PEN
The 48th Congress of International PEN, the global writers’ organization dedicated to spreading the word and defending its servants, was quite a show. Norman Mailer, president of PEN American… More
Eynulla Fatullayev Freed After Four Years in Prison
PEN International is delighted to learn of yesterday's release of Eynulla Fatullayev, a journalist who had become emblematic of the struggle for free expression in Azerbaijan. More
V1agra C1alis
1I didn’t get it at first. I thought she was kidding. Viagra, Cialis, your woman will want to keep going all night. I won’t say I didn’t blush. But… More
Journalist-Activist Shot Dead
PEN International protests the murder of political columnist and activist Wilfred Iván Ojeda Peralta, who was abducted in La Victoria, Aragua state, on May 16, 2011, and found dead… More
Luminescences of Words
When I was invited, a year and a half ago, to become president of the PEN American Center, I believe it was hoped I would prove enough of a… More