Interrogating the Status Quo

In an era where powerful men are being toppled and long-held notions of “acceptable behavior” are changing, writers remind us that the rules governing language are also not free… More

The PEN Ten with sam sax

I do have more to say about what a good writer is and ought to do, which I think carries many of the same qualities as a good person.… More

The PEN Ten with Safiya Sinclair

I think the responsibility of the writer is to say something true, to give voice to untold histories, to say something sincere about personhood, to speak from the margins… More

Dareen Tatour

October Featured Case: Dareen Tatour

Tatour was charged with incitement to violence and support of terrorism, stemming primarily from a reading of her poem “Resist, My People, Resist Them” posted on YouTube… More

The PEN Ten with Ife-Chudeni A. Oputa

The problem is the crown, doesn’t matter who's wearing it. Without the crown…"cultural theft and appropriation" is just humans engaging with the world around them—studying, learning, and collaborating. More

The PEN Ten with Matthew Zapruder

It’s better to bring such things we might be inclined to censor out into the light and let their ugliness be revealed and argued against. The alternative seems fraught… More