Interviews & Features
PEN America produces a breadth of interviews and features throughout the year.
“Write the World You Want”: A PEN Ten Interview with Cadwell Turnbull
"We are preoccupied by privilege. Our worldview skews towards it. There is no greater threat to free human expression." More
The PEN Ten: An Interview in Translation with Carlos Labbé
In this PEN Ten interview in translation, Lily Philpott speaks with author Carlos Labbé. Translated from the Spanish by Will Vanderhyden. More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Theresa Warburton and Elissa Washuta
This July Fourth, we celebrate Native American culture and literary traditions, with an interview with Elissa Washuta and Theresa Warburton. Read more here. More
The PEN Ten Interview: Author William Dameron on the Artistry of Writing
"Stories are emotional food; without them, we fail to thrive. They let us know that we are not alone, and they teach us how to be human." More
The PEN Ten with the 2019 Emerging Voices
"I think the most daring thing I have put into words is that I love writing. I love it so much that I don’t care if I suck, or… More
Why We Need Stories: A PEN Ten Interview with Sophia Shalmiyev
"The kind of writing I believe we need more of is jagged, way stranger, and structurally embodying the thinker, the visionary, the hermit, and the loudmouth." More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Poet Brenda Shaughnessy
"Just like all politics are identity politics, and just like the personal is political—all poems are love poems, all poems are political poems." More
Works of Justice: Author and Advocate Andrea J. Ritchie on State Violence Against Women of Color
In this Works of Justice interview, Giselle Robledo discusses state violence against women of color with Andrea J. Ritchie, author of Invisible No More. More
The PEN Ten Interview: Ahmed Naji on Language, Identity, and Writing in Exile
"I don't want to be sad, or a prisoner of my own nostalgia. It's an excellent opportunity to be here, and I am thirsty. I want to learn everything,… More
Works of Justice: An Interview with Writing for Justice Fellow Thomas Bartlett Whitaker
"Within my writings, I am able to take a moral stand against a site and an ideology that I feel to be both overwhelming and inherently broken." More