Blog
Filter By:
Advocacy • Analysis • Blog • Commentary • Drama • Essay • Event • Feature • Fiction • Graphic Narrative • Interview • Memoir • News • Obituary • Open Letter • Poetry • Press Release • Profile
Browse By Series:
PEN Poetry Series • Prison Writing • The PEN Ten Interviews • Illustrated PEN • Pen Pals • The PEN World
Browse By Email Subscription:
PEN America News • Educational Censorship News • Works of Justice
Prison and Poetry
I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind saying they enjoy being incarcerated. Prison, especially state prison, is a horrible place. It is not so much being told what,… More
Another Heart Knew My Pain
I can always tell when my mother was angry. Actually, I can only tell whenever my mother was about to get angry there was this spark in her eyes.… More
Species of a Lesser God
Indelibly etched in the canyons of memory I can remember being herded onto the Grey Gooses as these prison transportation buses are commonly referred to throughout the California Penal… More
Dad’s Poem
In bed surrounded by humid darkness,Hand-carved hearts above and below.Your snoring echoes across the hall,Halls vapor clings to your breath.My tired belly full of hunted venison.My head full of… More
Escape from a Maximum Security Jail
Los Angeles County has the largest jail system in the world. Their maximum security unit, Highpower, is reserved for the most dangerous, notorious and high risk inmates. Highpowers are… More
Bobby’s Innocence
Mommy’s alright, Daddy’s alright,They just seem a little weird -Cheap TrickChapter 1There’s two things I have never known my mom to do: drive a car, or have a job… More
Things Come Together, Things Fall Apart
Turning and turning in the widening gyreThe falcon cannot hear the falconer;Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and… More
Announcing the Aura Estrada Prize
PEN Trustee Francisco Goldman has announced the establishment of the Aura Estrada Prize, a fellowship honoring the spirit and aspirations of his wife, a promising young Mexican writer who… More