Literature and Power

April 17, 2005 | National Museum of the American Indian | New York City

With Bernard-Henri Lévy, Tomás Eloy Martínez, Francine Prose, Shashi Tharoor, and Oksana Zabuzhko; moderated by John Ralston Saul.

2005 Festival participants engage with a recurring theme: the writer’s vexed relation to political power. Does the history of the last century offer much support for the view that the literary imagination brings any special purchase on political wisdom? Can literature mitigate the pressures of ideology and nationalism, or is it destined to be their servant and apologist? Do writers have any special responsibilities beyond those of other citizens?

LISTEN TO SEGMENTS
• John Ralston Saul
• Tomás Eloy Martínez
• Oksana Zabuzhko
• Shashi Tharoor
• Francine Prose
• Bernard-Henri Lévy
• Panel Discussion
• Part 1: Q & A

>> Read excerpts from this event in PEN America 7: World Voices