The PEN Ten with Don Mee Choi
"My politico-aesthetic stance and practice as a poet and translator is 'illegal' and will likely remain so. I will let you know if and when an arrest ever happens." More
The PEN Ten with Saeed Jones
"I'm obsessed with manhood as a brutal and artful performance. My mind always finds its way back to the crossroad where sex, race, and power collide." More
The PEN Ten with Lisa Lucas
"I [ ] think that there’s something to how hard it is to write, to tell the truth, to publish, and to make a living doing so that brings… More
The PEN Ten with Laila Lalami
[W]riters have to write, even under threat. I think often of Tahar Djaout’s words: “If you speak, you die / If you are silent, you die / So speak… More
The PEN Ten with Amitava Kumar
I fear it is fashionable for many writers to think that they have to be right. I want to be wrong but true. Our task is to be human. More
The PEN Ten with Nancy K. Miller
I think constantly about aging and dying. Given my age and illness, this is in no way surprising, but the specter of a horrible death hovers over my waking… More
The PEN Ten with Julia Fierro
John F. Kennedy said, "Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names." I’d revise that message: "Forgive your enemy, but never forget their story." More
The PEN Ten with Domenica Ruta
I don’t care about fashion. Great minds paired with enormous hearts will always transcend fashion, no problem. The public intellectuals who are to remain vital will have to be… More
The PEN Ten with Alissa Nutting
"I think writing should be a sacrifice, and feel like one—how else could the act of constructing narratives, stories, lies, deceptions, ever be kept honest, if not through demanding… More