Orhan Pamuk: The White Castle
Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk describes the historical and creative practices that influenced the character Faruk Darvinoglu in his novel THE WHITE CASTLE. More
Colson Whitehead Reads from Blindness by José Saramago
I was thinking of this book a lot the first week of September, when we were getting the first images and news from New Orleans about the stadium... More
Chinese Poet Duo Duo and Artist Ai Weiwei on Tiananmen Square
"After the troops opened fire, everybody started running, but nobody left." More
Allen Ginsberg Sings at the 1986 PEN International Congress
In celebration of Allen Ginsberg's birthday week, here are two recordings featuring Ginsberg from the PEN America Archives. More
Robert Creeley reads “Hello”
In America, old sport, / we shoot first, talk later, / or just take you out to dinner. / No worries... More
Carolin Emcke on Reporting in Iraq, 2007
The Iraq war for me—is still today—an incomprehensible, really a paradox of war … a war we could see and watch and witness being built up. More
Maurice Kenny Reading at International Writers for Peace Day
Arrows, now the skies are diseased; arrows, now the earth is diseased; arrows, now the people are sick on dreams; arrows; come back to us. Chankpe Opi Wakpala! More
Aicha Lemsine on Gender Censorship
The most bitter opposition to women writers occurs when they move out of marked gender categories of discourse and trespass in areas considered outside of their realm. More
Richard Gilman Reading from The Passionate War
"Bombs away—some three thousand pounds of death rained down." More
Edmund White on Gay Fiction
Once AIDS came along in 1981, gay writers were encouraged to back off from writing sex scenes. We weren’t supposed to awaken any sense of backlash against gays who… More