Then on Pearse and Connolly
He fixed a bitter look:
‘Because I helped to wind the clock
I come to hear it strike.’
How goes the weather?
—“The O’Rahilly” (William Butler Yeats)
Unprecedented times require novel responses—including unorthodox literary and cultural convenings. On March 19, PEN America’s Washington office held its first-ever literary salon at Busboys and Poets, the storied Washington bookstore and café. Christian Omoruyi, government affairs liaison, welcomed dozens of PEN members, up-and-coming writers, congressional staffers, staff from foreign embassies, and allies from civil society to affirm and celebrate the power of the literary arts to strengthen democratic values.
Fashioned in the tradition of Enlightenment-era salonnières, the evening was a safe harbor for unfettered intellectual and literary exchange. Guests were invited to share excerpts of literature that have resonated with them in our turbulent world. To the audience’s delight, two guests, who moonlight as poets outside of their public policy work, debuted original poems—a paean to Abraham Lincoln, and an elegy informed by firsthand experiences of China’s Cultural Revolution. Eight additional attendees inspired the audience with poetry, extracts, and lyrics from periods including the Irish War of Independence, the Second World War, the civil rights movement, and postwar Vietnam.
Throughout 2025, the Washington office will continue hosting salons that highlight the socially conscious contributions of local writers and cultural luminaries while confronting timely topics with levity and community. In the face of an onslaught of challenges testing our constitutional order, the aim is to encourage out-of-the-box fermentation that we hope provides lasting inspiration for our audiences in a coiffured, policy-heavy city. Because—with due respect to the late Mario Cuomo—we can govern in poetry, too.
