PEN Across America Dallas Open House

After a year of isolation, PEN America is thrilled to invite you to an in-person open house event in Dallas. Join us on August 24 at 7pm CT at The Wild Detectives for readings, cocktails, and conversation with writers Kendra Allen and Casey Gerald.

This is event is taking place in an outdoor venue. The Wild Detectives asks that those who are not vaccinated to please mask up. If circumstances require, our plans may change. We promise to keep you posted.

Participation is free, but space is limited. Pre-registration is required. If you have any questions, please email William Johnson, PEN Across Program Director, at [email protected].

Panelists

Kendra Infinite Allen is the author of the award-winning essay collection When You Learn the Alphabet and the poetry collection The Collection Plate. Born and raised in Dallas, TX, she loves laughing and leaving. Her work can be found in Repeller, Southwest Review, Frontier Poetry, The Rumpus, and more.

Casey Gerald is the author of There Will Be No Miracles Here, a memoir that stands the American Dream narrative on its head, while straddling the complex intersection of race, class, religion, and sexuality. There Will Be No Miracles Here was named a Best Book of the year by NPR and The New York Times, and was described by novelist Marlon James as “the most urgently political, most deeply personal, and most engagingly spiritual statement of our time.” Gerald’s acclaimed longform essays include “The Black Art of Escape,” published in New York Magazine, and “Leon Bridges After Dark,” a 10,000-word cover story for Texas Monthly’s August 2021 issue. His two TED Talks have been viewed over five million times, and he has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, PBS, as well as on the cover of Fast Company, in Vanity Fair, The New York Review of Books, Vogue Italia, and other outlets. He lives in Austin, TX.