2017 PEN America Literary Awards Finalists
PEN America is thrilled to announce the finalists for the 2017 PEN America Literary Awards. These shortlists showcase 50 exceptional literary works chosen by our esteemed judging panels. With the… More
The Voice of Silence
There were no voices to be heard, no words or fragments of sentences coming from the couple sitting there. Until I realized, with a quick glimpse, that they were… More
Three Strikes
I dropped from the skies or from heaven—whatever was closer at the moment—at the doors of the Kremlin library to research, and the clerk, an army major with a… More
Un jardin, en attendant: Two Translations
This week in the Guernica/PEN Flash series, we feature an original piece by Moroccan poet and autobiographical writer Abdellah Taïa, juxtaposed by two different translations by Chris Clarke and… More
In Love, Post-Apocalypse
For a long time, Nathalie’s outline has remained calcified in the bed with her ghost. The weak sun illuminates its contours and every morning I leave the sheets loose… More
The Taiga Syndrome
The man was right: the woman seemed determined to be found. Like Hansel or Gretel, or both, she had sprinkled the crumbs of words and telegrams in every telegraph… More
Mortal Gods in the Greek Sea
We had no idea that a livid war was advancing on us like a sandstorm. We were committed to life, not death. We believed in the near, not the… More
Mayumi and the Sea of Happiness
He sounded older, twenty at least. I was afraid if we spoke again he would sound older still, that by month’s end he would have surpassed me, his… More