Interviews & Features
PEN America produces a breadth of interviews and features throughout the year.
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
Local Journalist Heroes: Keri Blakinger
“There are just more prisons and jails than there are reporters to cover them right now.” More
Local Journalist Heroes: Victoria Merlino
“Local news just gets things done. Simple as that.” More
Local Journalist Heroes: Corrinne Hess
“I think during this pandemic, local news plays the most vital role in keeping people informed.” 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: Tough Questions with Suzanne Nossel
“It’s a new normal, where all kinds of actors. . . around the world have recognized that they can, incredibly cheaply, purvey propagandistic messages.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with C Pam Zhang
“If I must live in a world in which I regularly grapple with how my identity shapes me, then the most honest thing I can do is to commit… More
Local Journalist Heroes: Jeff Goertzen
“When we publish a COVID-19 related story, we ask how can this empower people right now to protect their families.” More
The PEN Pod: Finding Hope in Endurance with Emily St. John Mandel
“This is something that our ancestors endured, and something that our descendants will endure, and our society. . . has endured through all of that.” More
Local Journalist Heroes: Texas Observer Staff
“We are constantly looking for stories that have been overshadowed or communities that are under-covered—and unfortunately, those are often among the most vulnerable.” More
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