Commissary Day
The unthinkable happens: They call for another shot. There are not even ten people in the hyena den to fill a shot. All of us are either stack-holders or… More
A Good Dude
The whites are loosely arranged by hometown and run together as a car, or collective. It’s like a gang, but with no real structure. White power inmates largely call… More
Seven Thousand Yesterdays
Robert Earl was 64 years old, whip thin and frail-looking, though he was still in pretty decent shape. He wasn’t stooped, but he had a weighed-down way of standing… More
Drums That Talk
Here was a messaging system that outpaced the best couriers, the fastest horses on good roads with way stations and relays. Earth-bound, foot-based messaging systems always disappointed. Their armies… More
Bringer of Fire
“Bugs? You got me for fucking bugs?!” He savagely backhanded me and I fell to the floor, the taste of copper in my mouth. Standing over me he screamed… More
Excerpts from Kurt Vonnegut: Letters
International P.E.N. is an organization of terribly old European cultural bureaucrats who meet twice a year to discuss World War Two. It is mainly financed by Americans and West… More
A Report on PEN’s SCOTUS Hearing
On a day when the rest of Washington was shuttered and hunkered down for Hurricane Sandy, the Supreme Court stuck it out and heard arguments over whether PEN and… More
PEN Appears Before Supreme Court
PEN and other human rights organizations challenge the U.S. government's secret NSA surveillance program. More
A Banned Books Wrap Up
This September, PEN American Center reached out to writers, editors, literary illuminati, and PEN staff to write about the banned books that matter to them most. Below you’ll find… More
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