The PEN Ten with emily m. danforth
I fear that it sounds too nicey-nice, too passive, which isn’t my intention—writers can and should agitate and expose and upset. But I still think there’s something there in… More
The Invisible Symposium
It is useful to remember that when you ride the subway, turn on the lights, brush your teeth, switch on your computer, dispose of your selected garbage, watch the… More
Creativity and Constraint in Today’s China: Executive Summary
This report arises out of five years of research and targeted advocacy on behalf of writers and journalists who have been censored or persecuted for their work in the… More
PEN’s Letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of State John Kerry on Role in Disclosing Twitter Account in Chile
PEN asks Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of State John Kerry to clarify the U.S.'s role in pressing Twitter to release user information about a blogger standing trial… More
Three Excerpts from New Impressions of Africa
Tired of giving his sweat to the bourgeoisie to drink / The slut in her attic dreams of living in style; / And to see his hands adorned with… More
The Land at the End of the World
The night—which resembles a notary’s office where resigned third-rank civil servants lie snoring among the sheaves of official papers—transforms the houses and the buildings into sad family vaults inhabited… More
Nursing the Master’s Children
I felt my milk going out // relieved / And sick like / As if the Master if he ever had had / fed me from his own plate More
In the Presence of Absence
Love, like meaning, is out on the open road, but like poetry, it is difficult. It requires talent, endurance, and skillful formulation, because of its many stations. It is… More