Literature in the Time of Coronavirus: A Reading List
We hope these nine essential books will provide respite and illumination amid the anxiety of current developments. More
Writing War: A Reading List
Molly Crabapple, co-author and illustrator of Marwan Hisham’s latest memoir, Brother of the Gun: A Memoir of the Syrian War and Alexis Okeowo, author of A Moonless Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and… More
On the Launch of the PEN America Digital Archive
The multimedia materials found in the archives are a testament to the profound impact writers have had on the history of our nation and of our world. More
Susan Sontag and Chinua Achebe In Conversation
"Art is supposed to give us a second handle on reality, so that when real life becomes too rough, we can use this." More
Series Launch: The PEN Book Report
PEN America launches a new series that asks writers to question the notion of "best of" book lists and share the top five books that inspire them and challenge… More
The PEN Ten with Moustafa Bayoumi
"A writer’s “revolutionary duty,” as Gabriel García Márquez once put it, is 'to write well.' The responsibility of a human being, on the other hand, is to practice compassion… More
Regarding Susan Sontag
Publicly, Sontag was the fierce, politically brave “dragon lady” of American letters; but in private, she was as confused and vulnerable as the next person. She was fascinating, complex,… More
The Politics of Translation: A Discussion
ESTHER ALLEN: Cliff Becker of the National Endowment for the Arts has for several years been talking about our “national translation crisis,” which was reflected in a recent New… More
Performance Art
Here’s a theory—or elements of a theory—of the comic. In this theory, the comic contains or embraces six elements. The first is the quality of deadpan, of impassivity; for… More
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