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Day of the Imprisoned Writer
In any given year, International PEN’s Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) monitors around 1,000 attacks against writers, journalists, poets, publishers and editors worldwide. These range from persistent harassment and… More
Yahoo Settles Civil Lawsuit with Families of Chinese Cyber-dissidents
PEN American Center today welcomed the news that Yahoo has settled a lawsuit brought by families of Shi Tao and Wang Xiaoning, two Chinese cyber-dissidents who were jailed for… More
Love and Revolution
People sometimes talk about Neruda as two different poets: the poet of politics and revolution, and the poet of love or romance. He is actually both at the same… More
Barrio Sin Luz
¿Se va la poesía de las cosas o no la puede condensar mi vida? Ayer—mirando el último crepúsculo— yo era un manchón de musgo entre unas ruinas. More
Announcing $10,000 Award for First Amendment Defender
PEN American Center and the Katherine Anne Porter Foundation today unveiled a new $10,000 prize for ordinary people who take extraordinary stands to defend the First Amendment in the… More
Rituals of Restlessness
“Where are we going sir?”“To work.”“What’s our business?”Kamran felt less anxious when he talked. He didn’t want to remain silent, even for a second. He just wanted to talk,… More
Zargana: Oblivion
OblivionAt night the moonbeams snap.The stars are suffocated.That maligned, unhappy barn owlscreeches out its grief.The old train on the trackshurtles to its destructionwheezing out its last breath. And I? I… More
Fatou Jaw Manneh: Dame of the Flaming Pen
Q: What motivated or inspired you to write?A: Political stagnation at that time, corruption and nepotism mainly motivated me. I also believe that no human being should sit on… More
PEN Urges Senators to Insist on Clear Rejection of Abusive Interrogations
Disturbed by the reluctance of Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey to speak clearly and forcefully against torture and other forms of cruel and inhumane treatment during his confirmation hearings… More
China Releases Tibetan Monk from Prison After 18 Years
PEN American Center today hailed the release of Ven. Ngawang Phulchung, a senior monk of Drepung Monastery in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa who was jailed in 1989 for… More