Sekou Sundiata and Charles Lynch on Influences
Poets Sekou Sundiata and Charles Lynch discuss early memories, adolescent anxieties, and the denouement associated with the future of the city. More
from Pearl
That pearl had rolled away from a mound where brightly lit plants cast bold shadows: More
Four Questions for Simon Armitage, Winner of the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation
For the first time in my life I was bilingual, even if I could only communicate with people who had been dead for half a millennium. More
Two Poems by Mu Cao
Your brain is stuffed with / garbage from books the System crams into you / Since grade school you’ve been mastering songs of praise / —Oh, you busy bees More
Two Poems by Chi Lingyun
But you must be able to see the rope around my waist / as I circle the coffin that’s adorned with multicolored streamers; 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
The PEN Ten with Amanda Johnston
The closer our writing stays to uncovering a truth, the better we can understand the questions and answers. If we fall short of that, we lose vital pieces of… More
Miscarriage
So mom I came out / with a wallop / and was ready to live / covered in the rubies / you made / You looked at me /… 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
