The Cop in Your Head: On Andy West’s “The Life Inside”
PEN America's Tomás Miriti Pacheco reviews Andy West's "The Life Inside: A Memoir of Prison, Family and Philosophy" (Picador, 2022). More
Record Label Die Jim Crow Gives Incarcerated Artists the Spotlight
PEN America intern Tomás Miriti Pacheco features Die Jim Crow Records, the first record label dedicated to incarcerated artists in the United States. More
A Movement to Bend the Arc: Keeda J. Haynes’ Memoir on Second-Chance Culture
Emma Stammen reviews Keeda J. Haynes' memoir, "Bending the Arc: My Journey from Prison to Politics" (Seal Books, 2021). More
Multiplicity and Narratives of Confinement in “Faces of Resilience,” Presented by the Barnes Foundation and Mural Arts Philadelphia
PEN America intern Alexandra Fiorentino-Swinton reviews "Faces of Resilience," a show featuring artists who are justice-involved, presented by the Barnes Foundation and Mural Arts Philadelphia. More
Introducing I am climbing the stairs that I create with these words all the way to the top: A NaPoWriMo Zine
PEN America's Sophia Ramirez introduces our newest Prison Writing poetry zine, "I am climbing the stairs that I create with these words all the way to the top," for… More
“Do you really want to know why the caged bird sings?”: On Marlon Peterson’s Abolitionist Memoir
Emma Stamen reviews Marlon Peterson’s Abolitionist Memoir Bird Uncaged (Bold Type Books, 2021) More
Benevolent Terror: Dorothy E. Roberts on Reimagining the Child Welfare System
Sophia Ramirez reviews Dorothy E. Roberts' new book Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families—and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World (Basic Books, 2022). More
Introducing Mahogany L. Browne’s “Quilted Steel: A Choreopoem”
Caits Meissner introduces Mahogany L. Browne's choreopoem "Quilted Steel," premiering at Lincoln Center. More
Necessary Unlearning: On Derecka Purnell’s ‘Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom’
Prison and Justice Writing Postgraduate Sophia Ramirez Fellow reviews Derecka Purnell’s "Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom." More
Addiction, Subjectivity, and Selfhood: Introducing David Sanchez’s First Novel, “All Day is a Long Time”
Prison and Justice Writing Fellow Emma Stammen speaks with writer David Sanchez about his debut novel, "All Day is a Long Time." More
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Four years ago, #JamalKhashoggi was murdered on orders of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Today, Saudi writers and critics are jailed for decades, as Mohammed bin Salman’s power expands. We continue to demand #JusticeForJamal and the #FreedomToWrite: https://pen.org/advocacy-case/jamal-khashoggi/
Festival Day is still on for today! All of our programs have moved INDOORS!
💔Unfortunately, we've had to cancel our Literary Marketplace due to the wind. You can still support them all online! And we look forward to having them next year!
Here at PEN America, we have long documented the threat #disinformation poses to public discourse and empowerment. To counter that threat, we launched our media literacy program, Knowing the News in 2020. https://pen.org/knowing-the-news/ (1/3)