Audio + Video
The Role of the Writer: Bárbara Jacobs
“If a writer is a good writer, he uncovers and records the loose ends, and if the state wants him to keep his trap shut, he does not conform… More
Katherine Dunn Reads from Geek Love
Katherine Dunn reads an excerpt from her novel, Geek Love, at the 1989 PEN America event "Where Rolls the Mighty Oregon: Pacific NW Writers." More
PEN Congress: Saul Bellow, 1966
An isolated recording of Saul Bellow speaking at the 1966 PEN International Congress addressing a number of topics and tropes. More
Writing in a Racialized Society: Cornel West
Cornel West speaks at the PEN America event "Writing in a Racialized Society." More
Gary Indiana: A Letter from William S. Burroughs
"Brainwashing, thought control, etc. is the vilest form of crime against the person of another." 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
Gary Snyder: What I Fear Most
What does Gary Snyder Fear Most? Find out in this recording taken from Nature Dead, Nature Alive (1991) The many forms of free expression exist beyond the reaches of… More
Robert Pinsky at Writers Resist in NYC
Poet, essayist, translator, and teacher Robert Pinsky reads "Exile and Lightning," a poem written for Writers Resist, the January 15th literary protest hosted by PEN America on the steps… More
Ryszard Kapuscinskis at the 1986 PEN International Congress
Polish journalist and poet Ryszard Kapuściński speaking at the 1986 PEN International Congress event “How Does the State Imagine?” More
Wang Meng: the Writer, the State and Imagination
"A writer must of course uphold intellectual freedom, defend all aspects of the development of man and pursues the progress of man from he kingdom of necessity to that… More
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