Irreparable Harm
The election of Bush was never the real problem. The assertion of power—in a matter in which the Court is morally and constitutionally precluded from playing any part—is. More
Between the World and Me
Ta-Nehisi Coates is the winner of the 2016 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay for Between the World and Me. Read an excerpt of the book. More
The Disappearance Approach
He was lying in his bed with his eyes closed. I knew when I saw him with the CPAP mask over his mouth and nose and heard the whooshing… More
A Love Letter to Brazilian Modernism: On Translating Veronica Stigger
Brazilian writer Veronica Stigger's award-winning debut novel is a groundbreaking work of world-class fiction by an author unknown in the English-speaking world. More
The Centaur’s Son
As I lay in my crib, sleeping only three crow miles away in another small sandstone farmhouse was a 15-year-old boy who was dreaming of graduating from high school… More
Dark Corners
As I sat alone at a picnic table eating lunch prepared by a woman in the congregation—chips, BBQ, chicken, corn on the cob, spaghetti, and cake—I was visited by… More
Prison Perspectives on Schopenhauer
Should I look for another philosopher who doesn’t threaten my peace of mind or parole prospects? More
Tears of Blood
Tiffanee likes when I tell her stories; she says it allows her mind to escape the prison of poverty, letting her thoughts run free from this five-by-five-foot tunnel. Far… More
Prison Writing Award Winners: 2014–2015
Announcing the winners of PEN’s annual Prison Writing Contest, one of the few outlets of free expression for the country’s incarcerated population. More
Perumal Murugan, a Literary Suicide
"The trend in India of writers being harassed and stigmatized for their work is troubling. It is imperative that writers from both inside and outside India support these voices,… More
Alert Us
To any writer artist who is at risk, or is in need of assistance, including those denied entry into the U.S. as a result of the latest Trump Administration travel ban. 
