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Little Hungary

Little Jack lived in Little Hungary in a little Hungarian tenement house. Those who lived in Little Hungary were called little Hungarians even though Little Jack was actually quite… More

PEN Appeal: Omidreza Mirsayafi

April 9, 2009 His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader Islamic Republic Street – Shahid Keshvar Doust Street Tehran Islamic Republic of Iran His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi Head… More

Night Zoo

My heart began racing the moment I reached the entrance. We hadn’t seen each other for a week, and after so long your absence was almost unbearable. Occasionally we… More

Concern for Detained Journalists

Writers Nguyen Hoang Hai and Pham Thanh Nghien are part of a group of writers who were detained during a crackdown against peaceful dissent in Vietnam in August and… More

Yoshihiro Tatsumi: Hell

"Hell," a graphic story by Yoshihiro Tatsumi, appears in PEN America 10: Fear Itself. To read the rest of this story, pick up a copy of PEN America 10: Fear… More

On Fear

When FDR said, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” he also said, “Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.” I… More

Being Saïd

On a stage in New York, a Director, an Actor, and an Actress are struggling to finish a play written by Saïd Sayrafiezadeh.Director: (Addressing the audience.) Ladies and gentlemen,… More

Scorched Maps

Scorched MapsI took a trip to Ukraine. It was June.I waded in the fields, all full of dustand pollen in the air. I searched, but thoseI loved had disappeared… More