“We Think in Stories”: A PEN Ten Interview with Namwali Serpell
"We think in stories. It’s so constitutive that 'need' is an understatement. It’s more like blood than water." More
National Poetry Month 2019: A Roundup
For National Poetry Month, PEN America has curated a selection of poetry, readings, and more, from our decades-long history with the celebrated art form. More
“A necessary voice on the page”: a PEN Ten Interview with Amber Flora Thomas
"Yes, I do experience this persona. She (generally) is a necessary voice on the page—she gives me distance from experiences I cannot hold in my body any longer." More
“To Write is to Take Action”: A PEN Ten Interview with Diane Mehta
"To write is to take action, and then you have to follow up your words with deeds—practice kindness, form opinions, stand up for others." More
On Writing Fearlessly: A PEN Ten Interview with Lilliam Rivera
"I’m just trying . . . to find joy in the littlest of things—in working with young people, in laughing out loud with my friends, and in writing fearlessly." More
Defying Constraints: A PEN Ten Interview with Brionne Janae
"So my act of resistance is to first and foremost curate and protect joy in my life, and second to remember to write . . . about more than… More
“I Use Fiction as a Way to Find Truth”: A PEN Ten Interview with Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
"I think writers can continue to speak truth to power. I think writers can advocate for the most vulnerable and make their pain heard." More
“Being a Writer is a Matter of Doing”: A PEN Ten Interview with Yoon Ha Lee
"It is through fiction we tell ourselves the emotional truths about life and living, from birth to death, from friendship and love to betrayal, from madness to mercy." More
A PEN Ten Interview with Author Susan Bernhard
"Facts are provable, truths are held, like beliefs. Perception is more interesting to me—how we see a set of facts through the lenses of individual experience." More
A PEN Ten Interview with Poet Cynthia Manick
"It’s a writer’s job to take truth and empathy and stretch it every direction; to make sense of things that don’t make sense." More
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"There is no longer such a thing as individually 'opting out' of our privacy-compromised world," writes @Zeynep Tufekci https://t.co/y2KRjn81Xy
Under Chinese censorship, #GameOfThrones becomes a mundane medieval documentary #GoT https://t.co/hCRAIgGtfo?
John Oliver will serve as Master of Ceremonies for the PEN Literary Gala saluting "Defenders of Truth" in NYC on May 21.
In 2016, he saluted the heroes of journalism while lamenting the financial state of the newspaper business on HBO's #LastWeekTonight. https://t.co/BX2gMtdjKR