Toni Morrison: On Censorship, Literacy, and Literature
"I come from a race of people for whom, at one time in this country it was illegal to be taught to read, it was illegal and punishable by… More
The PEN Ten with Peter Ho Davies
"What I try to resist is the self-censorship that stops us even trying to write something. That to my mind closes down the possibility too soon. The decision point… More
The PEN Ten with Oddný Eir
"The writer is responsible for what he writes. I'm old fashioned and think that the writer is responsible for making us more responsible and keeping words alive so we… More
PEN Estonia: Raising Popularity of Women’s Writing
The women writers are gaining ground. Books by women and girls are popular and writing is popular with women. We have many wonderful ones but let me introduce two… More
The PEN Ten with Ishion Hutchinson
"You are naturally paying tribute to the dead and the living, because a poem is the vehicle of reciprocal tension between what came before and what is present." More
Art is a Form of Encryption: Laura Poitras in Conversation with Lynn Hershman Leeson
"There are certain people who don’t encrypt their e-mail, so we just create a coding system. Perhaps we are talking about having lunch at a certain restaurant, when in… More
The PEN Ten with Ming Di
"I don’t think it’s the responsibility of writers to do anything. We do it anyway—out of consciousness, not responsibility." More
PEN Mexico: A Flourishing Literary Scene Despite Ongoing Impunity
In the eighth PEN World Series feature, we speak to PEN Mexico about the free expression challenges facing Mexican writers and journalists. More
The PEN Ten with Stephen Graham Jones
Stephen Graham Jones is many things, among them an incredible writer and story teller, as well as a Blackfeet Indian. The momentum of his prose drags you through the… More
The PEN Ten with Shawn Vestal
"I can’t remember not wanting to be a writer. As a child I would write creative notes to my parents, and in school at an early age I would… More
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