Barack Obama and the Freedom to Write
“We want to make a more perfect union, [but] it’s not to say that America will ever be perfect. It is that we can make it more perfect.” More
The PEN Pod: On Trump’s Continuing Fraud Claims and COVID Vaccine with Suzanne Nossel
“I think the question of the media’s role in helping usher Trump offstage is a really important one. . . it’s important that the media begin to shift focus… More
The PEN Pod: The Restorative Power of Black Art with Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham
“[The book] also allows us to look at how artists are processing all of the Black pain and trauma that’s inherent to the history of this country and our… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Michelle Gallen
“The most important thing a writer can do is to live mindfully with curiosity and kindness, to participate in life, and to listen to—and observe—as many people as you… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Kiese Laymon
“I’m shamefully inspired by the reality of death—earning death, as Baldwin phrased it. . . So, when I don’t want to write and read, I remind myself that we… More
The PEN Pod: On Saudi Arabia’s Crimes and a Potential Trump Memoir with Suzanne Nossel
“We’ve convened an extraordinary group. . . to widen the aperture, force the world to reckon with Saudi Arabia’s really egregious record.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Cynan Jones
“My ideas generally come from the landscape, then orbit each other in different states of readiness. When an idea finds form, it demands to be written.” More
The PEN Pod: Avenues for Magic with Emily X.R. Pan and Nova Ren Suma
““We wanted to acknowledge and share some of the beauty and the power that YA fiction has, especially in the form of the short story.” More
Break Out: An Interview with Kaveh Akbar
A conversation with Kaveh Akbar, who will be performing Terry Hedin’s “El Reno” in our “Break Out” awards celebration, about the privilege and responsibility of performing another person’s work. More
The PEN Pod: Exploring White Feminism and Ways to Combat It with Ruby Hamad
“We need something more than a movement that can’t be introspective enough to admit its own limitations. . . Maybe what we need is a holistic way of thinking.” More