“We Have Not Lived Through the Peak of Our Hardships”: An Interview with Andrey Kurkov
Nowadays, 80 percent of young authors write politically engaged literature, trying to touch upon very painful topics, the topics of refugees, immigrants, the topic of responsibility for the future... More
The PEN Ten with Dani Shapiro
Writers—by the very nature of what we do—are forced to slow down, and perhaps in so doing, we form a counterweight to the culture of instantaneous reaction. More
Four Questions for Tess Lewis, Winner of the 2017 PEN Translation Prize
I always read my drafts out loud when I’m polishing them—I find it easier to hear mistakes or awkward passages than to 'see' them. More
The PEN Ten with Sarah Schulman
The arresting officer testified that I said, 'Ladies should be able to choose.' I think that the idea of a woman's life being a human life was too complex. More
The M Word: Exclusive Interview with W. Kamau Bell
The fact that people are out there practicing their faith out loud in public, openly, and not hiding from it, to me that’s doing it the right way. More
The PEN Ten with Saul Williams
"It is the challenges we pose to ourselves that bring the greatest honesty, lucidity, imagination, directness. I consider my responsibility as a poet as something related to the journalist,… More
The PEN Ten with Troy Wiggins
"We all have a preoccupation with mortality because time is such a limited currency for us. Alongside that, I have to reckon with the reality that as a Black… More
The PEN Ten with Phenderson Clark
"I have been on the opposite end of a police officer’s drawn weapon on at least three separate occasions in three different American cities. I can still recall… More
The PEN Ten with Morgan Jerkins
"Love. I know it's cheesy but I am obsessed with love and how it shapes a reality between two individuals, a reality that others sometimes cannot fully perceive but… More
The PEN Ten with Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes
"Censorship is not being allowed to speak your language, it is having your mother tongue beaten out of you, it is being told your experiences are worthless because they… More