Interviews & Features
PEN America produces a breadth of interviews and features throughout the year.
The PEN Pod: On Fighting Asian American Hate and Posing Alternatives to Over-Policing with State Senator Brad Hoylman
“Seeing that more policing doesn’t always result in safer communities and that there are powerful alternatives to over-policing. . . we’re writing this bill.” More
The PEN Pod: On Censorship, Academic Freedom, and Hate Speech
“Even if you didn’t believe that fighting against hate crimes is just the right thing to do, as a moral matter, I think it’s also instrumental for the protection… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Zülfü Livaneli
“I have no regrets about my work. I wouldn’t want to change a single word I’ve written. . . . I’ve been sentenced several times because of [my] poem,… More
The PEN Pod: On Identity Politics, Queer Selfhood, and Libraries with Lisa Hiton and Dylan Zavagno
“Queer poetics right now, at least as the poems that we have are beginning to tell us, say a lot about revolution, image, form—form being an equivalent to the… More
The PEN Pod: On Belarus, Hong Kong, and Free Speech Rights for Students
“We’ve come to recognize how vitally important it is to educated young people on free speech rights, and that isn’t being systematically done.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with John Paul Brammer
“There’s something about writing that can turn thoughts into objects, into something that you can turn around and fiddle with and polish up.” More
The PEN Pod: On Crackdowns in Crimea with Emine Dzheppar
“What makes me really motivated and encouraged to keep on doing what I do at the moment. . . is people. Those brave ones, those courageous ones.” More
The PEN Pod: On Iran, Digital Sovereignty, and Divisive Topics on Campus
“[There’s a hypocrisy of] purporting to be a champion of free speech on campus. . . and at the same time, trying to pass a bill stating that certain… More
Local LGBTQ+ Reporters in Conversation: Jason Parsley
“LGBT presses are not in it to make money, per se. . . . There is a love and a sense of community that big corporations do not care… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Choi Eunyoung, Translated by Sung Ryu
“Although a book isn’t a person, I hoped that mine would be a book that ‘listens’ to the stories of people going through similar battles as me.” More