Confessions of a Silent Genre
The reader’s report is the most silent of literary genres, its existence publicly acknowledged only in attacks or parodies. In Umberto Eco’s Misreadings, spectacularly obtuse flunkies advise publishers to… More
Uneasy Peace
Many years ago, during what would have been my senior year in college if I hadn't left college and moved to New York, I got to attend a writers'… More
Paul Auster on Samuel Beckett: Laughter in the Dark
We went on to talk about other things, and then, out of the blue, ten or fifteen minutes later, apropos of nothing, he leaned forward across the table and… More
Laughter in the Dark
We went on to talk about other things, and then, out of the blue, ten or fifteen minutes later, apropos of nothing, he leaned forward across the table and… More
On American Language and Culture
People in this country understand that we’re a nation made up of foreigners; that’s our identity. And those of us who have chosen to live in New York City… More
On American and European Relations
There is no doubt great opposition among the citizens of Europe to the Iraqi adventure. But while the opposition to that war may not be as great in the… More
The Torturer General
It seems surreal: The president's nominee for the highest legal position in the land is a proponent of torture. In his notorious Jan. 25, 2002, memorandum to Bush, Alberto… More
We Are All Torturers Now
At least since Watergate, Americans have come to take for granted a certain story line of scandal, in which revelation is followed by investigation, adjudication and expiation. Together, Congress… More
Reading Is a Prime Defense Against Assault on Our Rights
As a child, one of my favorite novels was Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451." Its subject is book burning — 451 degrees Fahrenheit is the temperature at which books catch… More
Campaign for Reader Privacy Press Conference
I am here today on behalf of the 2,700 writers who are members of PEN American Center, and many thousands more professional, semi-professional, vocational, apprentice, and recreational writers who… More
Support for the freedom to read with exclusive designs by Todd Parr, Mike Curato, Art Spiegelman, and more!
