The PEN Ten: An Interview with Mina Seçkin
“Any language is meant to evolve. . . . Living in two languages—neither spoken with exact accuracy—built a house of expression for me growing up.” More
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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Entertainment Weekly (@EW) asked LGBTQ authors to pick books by other queer authors that bring them joy. https://ew.com/books/lgbtq-books-queer-joy-celebrating-art/
What are the 25 most influential New York novels published between 1921 and 2021? @nytimes judges share their top picks, including PEN America president @ayadakhtar’s HOMELAND ELEGIES! https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/22/t-magazine/new-york-city-novels-books.html
Is it true that since K-12 teachers don’t have free speech rights in the classroom, educational gag orders don’t raise any Constitutional concerns? Here are 5 popular myths about educational gag orders debunked by PEN America: https://bit.ly/3n9QviZ.
