War on a Lunchbreak
Not that I ever lay hiding // dying in a ditch, but if I had, I think that I’d / know much about dry grass, the incredible value of… More
Bleak Housing & Black Americans
The United States seems not merely to tolerate but actually to revel in inflicting barbaric human degradation upon prisoners—not just for months or years, but for decades and lifetimes... More
Move the Back of Your Heart Towards the Front of Your Heart
Let me show you pictures of the man / I was when I was // Other than the man / I am right now More
Banned Books Month is Coming!
September is all about banned books here at PEN American. We reached out to writers, editors, literary illuminati, and PEN staff to write about the banned books that matter… More
Announcing the 2012 PEN Literary Awards Recipients
We are pleased to announce the winners and runners-up of the 2012 PEN Awards, the most comprehensive literary awards program in the country. More
Translating Pussy Riot
Susan Bernofsky reports on how the closing statements by members of Russian punk band Pussy riot made it into English. More
Case Histories: Allen Ginsberg
"My books piled up before me for my use / waiting in space where I placed them, they haven't disappeared, time's left its remnants and qualities for me to… More
On Translating Andrea Tompa
Andrea Tompa's generation had no sultan to fear in distant Constantinople and his pashas, but they did have a Moscow-driven communist dictator and his secret police. No hostile armies… More
Excerpt from Andrea Tompa’s The Hangman’s House
I might make the third act, Juci had said that morning, perhaps she'll make the third act, thought her sister, because they both wanted to see their friend who… More
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