The PEN Ten Interview Series
The PEN Ten is on the pulse of literary culture to help you discover your next great read. In this interview series, we ask authors 10 questions about their latest work and art.
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
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
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
The PEN Ten with Deborah Smith
I never discuss a translation while I’m working on it, because for me the author’s voice and intention are all there on the page. More
The PEN Ten with Nicole Dennis-Benn
My job as a writer is to humanize people on the page … as artists we have a responsibility to dispel ignorance by spreading empathy. More
The PEN Ten with Sarah Schulman
The arresting officer testified that I said, 'Ladies should be able to choose.' I think that the idea of a woman's life being a human life was too complex. More
The PEN Ten with Christopher Bollen
I’m sure that particular piece of writing is horrifically melodramatic, but it did break down some invisible barrier between me and the page. It made me a braver writer. More
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