The PEN Ten with Martín Espada
"As a poet with a background in law, I am obsessed by the philosophy, the poetics, and the practice of justice. I am obsessed by what Whitman calls, 'the… More
The PEN Ten with Janet Peery
I would caution us to refrain from spending too much time in articulating [writers'] collective purpose for fear of leaching the blood out of the “uncontrollable mystery on the… More
PEN Eritrea: Defiance in the Face of Extreme Repression
In the third installment of the PEN World Series, we speak to PEN Eritrea about the free expression challenges and literary traditions of Eritrea. More
The PEN Ten with Sarah Weinman
"I’ve said often that crime fiction in particular is an excellent vehicle for social commentary, because so much of what happens in society has some tie, or root,… More
PEN South Africa: Looking Towards Progress
In the second installment of the PEN World Series, we speak to PEN South Africa about the free expression challenges and literary traditions of South Africa. More
The PEN Ten with Lauret Savoy
"Perhaps some might not think of this as censorship, but how a society remembers can’t be separated from how it wants to be remembered or from what it wishes… More
The PEN Ten with Philip Metres
"I think we Americans have to flip the question and ask, in what ways are we ourselves in a condition of carceral submission, surveilled and made docile? How much… More
The PEN Ten with Chaya Babu
"I think the responsibility of the writer is to interrogate their reality and the reality of what they see and then write that. I do believe there is collective… More
Belarusian PEN Center: The Struggle for Writers’ Independence
Introducing our new series showcasing the work of the over 140 centers that form PEN International. This month we speak to the Belarusian PEN Center on free expression challenges… More
The PEN Ten with Rachel Eliza Griffiths
"The responsibility of the writer is a hydra-headed practice of witnessing and action. That means accountability—to a greater world and to, especially, my own spiritual ecosystem." More