Interviews & Features
PEN America produces a breadth of interviews and features throughout the year.
The PEN Ten with Ife-Chudeni A. Oputa
The problem is the crown, doesn’t matter who's wearing it. Without the crown…"cultural theft and appropriation" is just humans engaging with the world around them—studying, learning, and collaborating. More
The PEN Ten with Matthew Zapruder
It’s better to bring such things we might be inclined to censor out into the light and let their ugliness be revealed and argued against. The alternative seems fraught… More
Swiss German PEN: Raising Awareness for Lesser-Known Cases
Our work doesn’t only deal with the more mainstream cases … There are many other names that should be mentioned. We try to spread awareness about those less spoken… More
The PEN Ten with Malka Older
Writers mirror their societies, reflecting back and interpreting what they see with enough distance and distortion for recognition and insights and evolution to occur. More
The PEN Ten with Dani Shapiro
Writers—by the very nature of what we do—are forced to slow down, and perhaps in so doing, we form a counterweight to the culture of instantaneous reaction. More
The PEN Ten with Samiya Bashir
“The writer,” such as they are, can lose their mind or more by not writing. Your work, if it’s in you, can be both tonic and toxic. More
PEN San Miguel: Advocating for Journalists in Dangerous Climate for Free Expression
Threat in Mexico is not abstract. Over 70 journalists have been killed here in recent years…Mexico is a terrifying place to be trying to exercise free expression... More
The PEN Ten with Carmen Agra Deedy
Respect the intelligence of young readers and never, ever, lie to them. They will love you for the former and crucify you should you ignore the latter. More
Four Questions for Simon Armitage, Winner of the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation
For the first time in my life I was bilingual, even if I could only communicate with people who had been dead for half a millennium. More
Four Questions for Tess Lewis, Winner of the 2017 PEN Translation Prize
I always read my drafts out loud when I’m polishing them—I find it easier to hear mistakes or awkward passages than to 'see' them. More
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