The Chains Will Shrivel into Foil
Award-winning poet Mandla Langa and board member of South African PEN writes about Mandela's enduring legacy on free expression in South Africa. More
From Prospero to PRISM: 5 Questions about Surveillance and Literature with David Rosen and Aaron Santesso
What can literature tell us about surveillance? We grilled David Rosen and Aaron Santesso, authors of the new book on literature and surveillance entitled The Watchman in Pieces, to… More
PEN Members Reading at Franklin Park
On Monday, June 10, PEN partnered with the Franklin Park Reading Series for an evening of readings and conversation with PEN Members old and new: Edwidge Danticat, Matt Bell,… More
Chinua Achebe, Storyteller In Excelsis
Nigerian PEN President Tade Ipadeola on the influence of Chinua Achebe on his life and African letters. More
Grandmother Power!
Paola Gianturco's moving book Grandmother Power profiles grandmother activists in 15 countries on five continents about their human rights work. In this chilling excerpt, we learn how grandmothers in… More
PEN Haiti’s Beautiful New House of Literature
Our Freedom Write fellow on his visit to PEN Haiti's extraordinary new Maison Georges Anglade as part of an intercultural exchange supported by the Jerome L. Greene Foundation. The… More
Jaipur Literature Festival: Proving Ground for Free Expression
The sobering fact is that Jaipur has become a sort of proving ground for free expression, where writers can both discuss human rights and experience, first hand, the extent… More
Human Rights Travesty in Cameroon for Writer Enoh Meyomesse
In what appears to be a clear violation of human rights and the right to free expression, a judge has sentenced Cameroonian writer Enoh Meyomesse to seven years in… More
PEN Visits South Africa
I just returned from a fabulous trip to South Africa, where I traveled on behalf of PEN American Center with the poet Cathy Park Hong as part of our… More
Censorship and Writing for Young Adults
I write for children and teenagers—this is my perspective on censorship from within the world of kids’ books. More