La Cadena

Angel figured his only chance was to pivot and run back in the opposite direction. But it was far too late. The sights had been trained upon him all… More

stack of notebooks

Prison Writing Award Winners: 2017

Every year, hundreds of inmates from around the country submit poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and dramatic works to PEN America’s Prison Writing Contest, one of the few outlets of free… More

Wounded For My Own Transgressions

Now I’m back in prison. The nurses are treating me more like a medical monkey than a medical miracle. The “administration” and the like all want to see the… More

camera

House of the Interpreter

Moyet, our interpreter, quietly translates to him what is being said, unconsciously keeping his hand to his throat, with steady eyes focusing on the dead girls. More

This is Where

I’m from where silence is normal and / punitive. / Hugs are warm and forced Catholicism still / weighs heavy on my mother’s shoulders. / At 73—the burden has… More

Run Chile Run

I don't like this place / Locks on the cabinets / And cable cords strapped around da refrigerator's waist / She doesn't like my face / Even, when I’m... More

metal button

33 Days

He turned around and looked out into the empty hallway. No clocks, of course. Inside it was always the eternal sunshine of the fluorescent tube. More

Glimpse: Year 26, 2016

There’s a lot of gray / in what’s left of my hair— / my George Jefferson tonsure / monks somewhere still wear / ... / Styling changes I spied… More