Discussed: Witnessing the emperor naked, travelling the world, getting arrested at Occupy Wall Street, drawing protestors and prisoners, sex workers and refugees, and learning to erase the line between writing and drawing. 

In a fierce talk titled “How to Draw the Elephant in the Room,” artist, activist, and journalist Molly Crabapple wove a story of a lifetime of rebellion and art, beginning with how she got into trouble at school, worked as a “naked girl for hire” in lieu of getting a desk job—an experience that sharpened her artistic gaze and output—and ending with seeing her art go from sketchpad to protest sign during the Occupy Wall Street movement, and committing herself to drawing and writing about the disappeared. Part of PEN’s monthly DIY Series.