Ayad Akhtar’s Remarks at the 2021 PEN America Literary Gala
“Reading, of course, is an individual act, but a culture that fosters reading and one that supports writers, invariably compels us to presence, to protest, to celebration.” More
The PEN Pod: On Trauma, Identity, and Reinvention with Dan O’Brien
“It’s so important to me to push through the taboo of what we shouldn’t speak about and can’t speak about, or feel we can’t speak about.” More
The PEN Pod: From Trauma to Transcendence with Alice Randall
“Black joy is particularly radical, and [the book] helps you achieve some Black joy right now—it helps all people achieve some honorable, honest joy.” More
The PEN Pod: Singing About Dark Times with Carolyn Forché
“People have always turned to poetry in moments of extremity, because poetry arises—it’s deeply sourced, it’s memorable, it’s musical, and it offers us awareness.” More
The PEN Pod: Conveying Collective Trauma with Brandon Shimoda
“We’re in this moment where we’re all collectively undergoing this extraordinary trauma. . . in a way in which it’s not entirely visible.” More
The PEN Pod: Recalibrating Our Priorities with Ruchika Tomar
“The desire that I’m seeing for connection is really heartening, because what we’re doing as writers is responding to human experience.” More
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"Online is real life. For me, social media is an extension of my workplace. And it can be unsafe." @carlyfindlay shares her experiences of online abuse & highlights the lack of protection on social media platforms for disabled users facing online abuse. https://r29.co/2ZcrElS
On the latest edition of @progressntwrk's podcast What Could Go Right?, PEN America CEO @SuzanneNossel speaks about navigating and defending free speech and free expression while also cultivating a more inclusive public culture. LISTEN 🎧 : https://bit.ly/3E4iAP3.
