Meet the PEN America 2018-2019 Writing For Justice Fellows: David Heska Wanbli Weiden PEN America 2019-04-10 | Learn more about the Writing For Justice Fellowship at pen.org/writing-justice.
Understanding Election Disinformation: What Voters Need to Know PEN America 2024-10-18 | In this webinar, Kurt Sampsel of PEN America provides an overview of the key themes, motivations, and trends of current election disinformation campaigns, followed by a conversation with Maritza Félix of Conecta Arizona and Jen Fifield of Votebeat about what they’ve learned from fighting election conspiracies and providing communities with nuanced, accurate information about voting.
What Are Educational Gag Orders? PEN America Champions of Higher Education Explain PEN America 2024-10-08 | "This situation is the first nail in the coffin of democracy." PEN America has tracked state-level educational censorship legislation since 2021. In our latest report, we found that in the 2024 legislative session, state governments enacted eight new educational gag orders—direct restrictions on educational speech in the classroom—and five additional higher education bills that endanger academic freedom, such as bans on diversity, equity, and inclusion and restrictions on governance and faculty tenure. In all, 47 educational gag orders and 10 other higher ed restrictions were enacted in 23 states between January 1, 2021, and October 1, 2024.This year, higher ed censorship policies went underground—and became even more dangerous. Read more analysis in our report, America's Censored Classrooms 2024, at the link in our bio.
Russian Independent Media Archive: Preserving History PEN America 2024-10-03 | More than 1,500 journalists have been forced to leave Russia since 2022. The Russian Independent Media Archive is preserving more than two decades of work by independent Russian reporters and editors whose newspapers, websites, magazines and television stations have been destroyed or sent into exile.We may not be able to save the journalists themselves, but we can preserve their work and publications. RIMA is a project of PEN America, developed in partnership with Bard College to preserve the historical record of what is happening in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Election Countdown: Combating the Most Dangerous Disinformation Trends PEN America 2024-10-03 | As the 2024 presidential election approaches, political disinformation is surging — both from within the U.S. and by foreign actors. But what are the biggest dangers? AI and deep fakes? Social media amplification of lies and incitement to violence? Americans’ distrust of the media and other institutions? Just four weeks from the election, PEN America gathered top journalists and researchers who battle disinformation to let you know what they’re seeing, what concerns them most, and how voters can identify and counter disinformation during the final countdown.Moderated by Nina Jankowicz, co-founder of the American Sunlight Project, the panel includes: Roberta Braga, founder of the Digital Democracy Institute of the Americas; Tiffany Hsu, disinformation reporter for The New York Times; Brett Neely, supervising editor of NPR’s disinformation reporting team; and Samuel Woolley, University of Pittsburgh professor, disinformation researcher and author; and with an introduction by Summer Lopez, PEN America's Chief Program Officer of Free Expression.
Project 2025 and Education: A Threat to the Freedom to Read, Learn, and Teach PEN America 2024-09-17 | Project 2025 bills itself as a pro-free speech document. Our analysis found just the opposite. Our research director James Tager outlines four key threats that Project 2025 poses to the freedom to read, learn, and teach.1. Project 2025 defines LGBTQ+ content as "porn" and treats librarians like criminals. This is wildly irresponsible rhetoric that puts librarians and teachers at risk.2. Project 2025 would turbocharge educational censorship across the country, taking the educational gag orders already enacted in many states to the federal level.3. Project 2025 would use "parental rights" rhetoric to target specific ideas in education — allowing censorship-minded advocates to impose their views on all children.4. Project 2025 takes aim at colleges and universities, proposing changes to the accreditation process that would make it easier for state leaders to impose ideological control.To read the full analysis and join our fight against educational censorship, go to pen.org.
PEN America Free Expression Advocacy Institutes PEN America 2024-09-16 | PEN America’s Free Expression Advocacy Institutes began as a three week virtual program in 2020 as a way to connect and engage young people during the height of the pandemic. Since then, the program expanded to in-person week-long experiences in three flagship cities, certifying more than 500 students who were added to our community of youth advocates. The 2024 institutes kicked off with workshops that provided an overview of free expression across the globe and in the United States, continued with an exploration of online free expression issues, and concluded with an examination of the state of book bans and a celebration of literature. “The goal of our programs is to reform and transform how young people can imagine the freedom of expression,” said Niko Perez, program manager of free expression and education at PEN America.
PEN America: Turning the Page on Book Bans PEN America 2024-09-16 | PEN America has documented thousands of book bans since 2021, when the scope of censorship expanded dramatically, tied to directives from elected officials & pressure from local groups. Since then, we’ve seen an unprecedented rise in book bans, affecting everything from “1984” to the dictionary. But the most targeted books are the books that are most desperately needed – books about race and people of color and books with LGBTQ+ identities; books about children who have not always seen themselves in books.We hope you’ll join us in the fight against book bans at pen.org/action
How Fact-checking Works – and Why It Matters PEN America 2024-08-16 | In this webinar, Kurt Sampsel of PEN America will provide an overview of the main types of fact-checking and what’s involved, followed by a conversation with Wilkine Brutus of WLRN radio Miami and Laura Zommer of Spanish-language information hub Factchequeado about the methods they use to verify information and how fact-checking helps them tell stories and inform their audiences.You can learn more about PEN America's Disinformation and Community Engagement program at our website: pen.org/issue/disinformation
#ElectSafely PEN America 2024-07-25 | Is your password as secure as the lock on your front door? Here's how to make sure it is. For more tips on staying safe online, check out PEN America's onlineharassmentfieldmanual.pen.org #electsafely with the Coalition Against Online Violence
How to Build Relationships with Journalists Covering Your Community PEN America 2024-06-25 | In this webinar, Kurt Sampsel of PEN America will share strategies for building relationships with journalists, followed by a conversation with Edwin Robinson of Faith in Texas and Marlissa Collier of the Dallas Weekly about how community leaders and news consumers can engage with local media – and manage narrative power – in ways that benefit both the community and local journalism.You can learn more about PEN America's Disinformation and Community Engagement program at our website: pen.org/what-were-doing-about-disinformation-in-2024/.
PEN America Prison and Justice Writing Program Freewrite Curricula Training PEN America 2024-06-12 | PEN America’s Prison and Justice Writing Program introduces the companion curricula to the creative writing anthology, The Sentences that Create Us: Crafting a Writer’s Life in Prison. Like the book, these are free for all.The curricula were written by a team of formerly incarcerated authors and leading justice based arts instructors. Two versions are available: one for facilitators and one for independent writing groups. They have been tried by over 20 pilot workshops in ten different states including federal and state facilities. In this video, facilitators introduce the curricula and offer concrete advice for how to establish an independent workshop or use these materials in an existing course.Visit pen.org/freewrite-curricula for more information and to get the free curricula.
Campus Protest Then and Now PEN America 2024-05-23 | Many are drawing analogies between the activism on campuses today and what happened in the 1960s at Kent State, Columbia, Berkeley and other colleges and universities. What are the similarities and differences between then and now? How is protest distinct from civil disobedience and what role is each playing currently? Join a panel of experts to discuss these topics and how universities should respond in this moment and moving forward.Moderator: Dr. Spoma Jovanovic Panelists: Emerson Sykes and Dr. Gregory Wllson
Seth Meyers Full Remarks | 2024 PEN Literary Gala PEN America 2024-05-22 | Seth Meyers' full remarks at the PEN America Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on May 16, 2024.
Author Dinaw Mengestus Full Remarks | 2024 PEN America Literary Gala PEN America 2024-05-22 | Author Dinaw Mengestu speaks to guests at the 2024 PEN America Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on May 16, 2024.
PEN America 2024 PEN America 2024-05-22 | Free speech. It means something different to us. Over the past 100 years, PEN America has advocated for free expression, defended writers and artists at risk around the globe, and fought censorship in the United States and abroad. Our cause has been made all the more urgent by the current wave of book bans and censorship in schools.This video was featured at the PEN America Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on May 16, 2024.
Wandrea ‘Shay’ Moss and Ruby Freemans full speeches | 2024 PEN America Literary Gala PEN America 2024-05-22 | Wandrea ‘Shay’ Moss and Ruby Freeman's address guests at the PEN America Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on May 16, 2024.
PEN America President Jenny Boylan’s Full Remarks | 2024 PEN America Literary Gala PEN America 2024-05-22 | Jenny Boylan, President of PEN America, speaks to guests at the PEN America Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on May 16, 2024.
Quynh Vi Tran Full Speech on Freedom to Write Award Phạm Đoan Trang | 2024 PEN America Literary Gala PEN America 2024-05-22 | Vietnamese writer and human rights defender Phạm Đoan Trang received the 2024 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award at the organization’s annual literary gala on May 16, 2024.Her friend, Lawyer Quynh Vi Tran, accepted on her behalf.
2024 Business Visionary Award Honoree Almar Latour Full Speech | 2024 PEN America Literary Gala PEN America 2024-05-22 | 2024 Business Visionary Award Honoree Almar Latour, CEO of Dow Jones and Publisher of The Wall Street Journal, speaks to guests at the PEN America Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on May 16, 2024.
PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel Full Address at the 2024 PEN America Literary Gala PEN America 2024-05-22 | Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, full speech to guests at the PEN America Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on May 16, 2024.
PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel Speaks at the 2024 PEN America Literary Gala PEN America 2024-05-21 | Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, speaks to guests at the PEN America Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on May 16, 2024.
2024 Barbey/Freedom to Write Award Video: Phạm Đoan Trang PEN America 2024-05-21 | Phạm Đoan Trang received the 2024 PEN Barbey/Freedom Award at the organization’s annual literary gala on May 16, 2024. Phạm Đoan Trang is a Vietnamese writer, publisher, journalist, and pro-democracy activist currently imprisoned in Vietnam due to her writings in support of human rights.
Quynh Vi Tran Accepts the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award for Her Friend Phạm Đoan Trang PEN America 2024-05-21 | Vietnamese writer and human rights defender Phạm Đoan Trang received the 2024 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award at the organization’s annual literary gala on May 16, 2024.Her friend, Lawyer Quynh Vi Tran, accepted on her behalf.
Seth Meyers Hosts the 2024 PEN America Literary Gala PEN America 2024-05-21 | Seth Meyers hosts the 2024 PEN America Literary Gala on March 16, 2024 at the American Museum of Natural History.
2024 PEN Gala: Wandrea Shay Moss and Ruby Freeman Speech PEN America 2024-05-21 | Wandrea ‘Shay’ Moss and Ruby Freeman speak onstage during the 2024 PEN America Spring Literary Gala.
Author Dinaw Mengestu speaks at 2024 PEN America Literary Gala PEN America 2024-05-21 | Author Dinaw Mengestu speaks to guests at the 2024 PEN America Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on May 16, 2024.
Almar Latour on Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich at 2024 PEN America Literary Gala PEN America 2024-05-21 | 2024 Business Visionary Award Honoree Almar Latour, CEO of Dow Jones and Publisher of The Wall Street Journal, discusses the critical role of journalism and the inspiring work of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich. This event highlights the challenges faced by journalists worldwide and underscores the importance of press freedom at the organization’s annual literary gala on on May 16, 2024.
Tyler Perry Speaks at Speaks at the 2024 PEN America Literary Gala PEN America 2024-05-21 | Tyler Perry speaks to guests about Wandrea 'Shay' Moss and Ruby Freeman at the 2024 PEN America Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on May 16, 2024.
How Cognitive Biases Make Us Vulnerable to Disinformation PEN America 2024-04-19 | In this webinar, Kurt Sampsel of PEN America will provide an overview of some of the most common cognitive biases that shape how we consume information, followed by a conversation with Chris Cobler of the Fort Worth Report and Kristy Roschke of Arizona State University about how we all can reduce the influence of cognitive biases and become more resilient consumers of news and information. You can learn more about PEN America's Disinformation and Community Engagement program at our website: pen.org/what-were-doing-about-disinformation-in-2024/.
Dont Say Rape: Book Banners Block Sexual Assault Education for Teens PEN America 2024-03-11 | A quarter of the more than 3,000 instances of book bans counted by PEN America in the 2022-2023 school year contained scenes of rape or sexual assault. A book about sexual assault may be difficult reading, but banning it doesn't protect teens — it puts them at risk.More than 1 in 10 teen girls say they have been raped, according to a 2021 survey by the CDC. Allowing students to learn about rape can help prevent it, and it can help those who have experienced it learn how to talk about it. This video was made possible in part by a grant from the A-Mark Foundation amarkfoundation.org
PEN America v. Escambia County Plaintiffs on Standing Up to Book Bans PEN America 2024-03-08 | "If Ruby Bridges can be escorted into a white school, called all kinds of names, spit on ... your children can read about it. That's how I feel about it."Three of the parents who joined us as plaintiffs in PEN America et al. v Escambia County, Florida, explain why they're standing up to book bans.This video was made possible in part by a grant from the A-Mark Foundation, amarkfoundation.org/. To find out what you can do to fight book bans, go to pen.org/action
Flashpoints: Free Speech in American History, Culture, and Society PEN America 2024-03-05 | From May 2022 to May 2023, PEN America and the American Historical Association (AHA) co-hosted Flashpoints: Free Speech in American History, Culture, and Society. This series presented the fascinating and complex history of free speech in American democracy to public audiences in cities across the country. In this public event series, preeminent scholars examined how free speech has evolved; illuminated past debates over who has the right to speak; and shed light on present debates about free speech in the context of protest, dissent, and the quest for social change. Visit the Flashpoints Educational Resource Hub at pen.org/flashpoints for comprehensive, downloadable Discussion Guides for each panel discussion topic, appropriate for high school, college, and university classrooms and other group discussions; recordings of each panel discussion, including engaging, topical introductions by local performers; and 5-7 minute-long videos by the panelists that focus on their “flashpoint” moment of interest. Videos produced by Phatt Featurespen.org/flashpoints
Teacher Fired Over Rainbowland Dustup Prepares Lawsuit PEN America 2024-03-05 | Melissa Tempel was fired after tweeting that her first-graders weren't allowed to sing 'Rainbowland.' The elementary school teacher from Waukesha, Wisconsin, spoke out in an interview with PEN America.
PEN America: Defending the Freedom to Read, Write, and Imagine PEN America 2024-03-05 | In 2023, PEN America's mission was as vital as ever. We fought book bans and censorship and united with artists and writers at risk around the world. We celebrated words, and we fought for the right to be heard. As you consider giving, please include a gift to PEN America to help us write a better future. pen.org/fall23-fight-back-against-book-bans
Break Out 2023 PEN America 2024-03-05 | PEN America’s Prison and Justice Writing Program presented Break Out, a celebratory book launch for Thank the Bloom: 2023 PEN Prison Writing Awards Anthology at BRIC Arts Media on December 6th, 2023. pen.org/publications/prison-writing-awards-anthologyBreak Out is an annual community-centered staging of compelling, cross-genre literary works from the most recent award cycle. A selection of awarded works from Thank the Bloom was performed by a distinguished cadre of writers, actors, and activists, including Kalyne Coleman, Suzanne Gardinier, José A. Pérez, Hugh Ryan, and Mario Finesse Wright.Videography: José A. PérezProgram curation: Ruby Haack and Malcolm TariqASL services: Pro Bono ASL (Alberto Medero)00:00 - Introduction12:52 - "Mythos" by Joel Davis, read by Mario Finesse Wright14:46 - "Prison Dad" by Andrew Suh, read by Mario Finesse Wright23:00 - "Denouement" by Catherine LaFleur, read by Suzanne Gardinier28:01 - "Anatomy of a Cell: Four Ways" by Emilio Fernandez, read by Suzanne Gardinier31:51 - "The Self as an Unlit Wick in Bed" by B. Batchelor, read by José A. Pérez33:54 - "The Bogeymen" by Rashuan Black, read by José A. Pérez38:33 - "This Call is from an Inmate at a Federal Prison" by Eric Tscheukenow, read by Hugh Ryan40:02 - "The Things I've Learned in Prison: a Memoir" by Marina Bueno, read by Hugh Ryan45:36 - "Not Pictured" by C. Fausto, read by Kalyne Coleman48:22 - "Things That Go Bump in the Night" by Crystal Avila, read by Kalyne Coleman55:38 - "I Vaguely Recall What Flowers Are for" by Ken Meyers, read by allSpecial thanks to:BRIC Arts Media
Dictionary Banned in Escambia County, Florida PEN America 2024-03-04 | C is for censorship. Yes, the dictionary really was banned in Escambia County, Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis tried to deny that the dictionary was banned and blamed a few "bad actors" for runaway book bans. But it was the laws he championed that created an environment where this could happen. PEN America's Kasey Meehan explains how we got here.This video was made possible in part by a grant from the A-Mark Foundationamarkfoundation.org
101-Year-Old Grace Linn on Why We Need to Pay Attention to Book Bans PEN America 2023-12-20 | Others protesting book bans in schools and libraries across America have held up signs in protest. Grace Linn held up a quilt. The 101-year-old created the quilt that was displayed as she squared off against the Martin County School Board for banning 84 books. According to officials, the ban was the district’s effort to comply with a Florida Department of Education directive as part of the implementation of House Bill 1467.Here, Linn talks to PEN America about the importance of learning history so we don't repeat it. She is featured in the new documentary "The ABCs of Book Banning."
PEN AMERICA TOWN HALL 2023 - CONVERSATION AMID CRISIS: SUSTAINING DIALOGUE IN DIVIDED TIMES PEN America 2023-12-12 | PEN America Annual General Meeting, Conversation Amid Crisis: Sustaining Dialogue in Divided Times, interrogates the challenge of keeping civil discourse alive amid deep schisms. This panel discussion will examine not the conflict in the Middle East per se, but rather its ripple effects on the cultural, academic, and literary ecosystem back home. Through this conversation, we will endeavor to cultivate a space where writers and thinkers can navigate fraught topics by demonstrating a willingness to listen, engage, learn, and even narrow differences if possible.We hear from a panel of experts, including award-winning fiction and nonfiction writer Zaina Arafat; journalist and translator Yair Rosenberg; journalist, editor, and cultural critic Judith Shulevitz; writer and former Director of the Arab-Israeli Project at the International Crisis Group Nathan Thrall; and author, lawyer, and equity advocate Kenji Yoshino, in conversation with PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel.
Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power, discusses carceral censorship PEN America 2023-11-27 | In prisons across the United States that track content bans, the most banned author is Robert Greene, whose many New York Times bestsellers are also commonly cited as threats to security. His best-known book, The 48 Laws of Power, is banned in prisons in 18 states. It analyzes the nature of authority and the power dynamics behind all kinds of interpersonal social relationships, from friendships to romantic relationships to more hierarchical social structures. Greene told PEN America that he has been contacted by incarcerated people who were terrified by prisons before they read his book. “The correspondence that I got," he said, was "about the system, and how it was affecting them and how it was kind of making them paranoid, and making them think that everybody was against them, etc., etc. And they didn't know how to deal with it. And the book just kind of calmed them down and made them reflect and not react emotionally to these situations.”
The Kremlin’s Attacks Against Dissident Voices PEN America 2023-11-27 | PEN America organized a panel on Oct. 24, 2023, moderated by Gary Shteyngart and featuring U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation Mariana Katzarova, co-chair of HRC Memorial Sergei Davidis, and exiled Russian journalist Elena Kostyuchenko.
Laurie Halse Anderson on Censorship PEN America 2023-11-20 | Laurie Halse Anderson’s celebrated young adult novel "Speak" tells the story of Melinda, a high school student who stops speaking after a sexual assault. "Speak" was a National Book Award finalist. It was also an immediate target for censors. In the 2022-2023 school year, Speak and its adaptations were banned 14 times, according to PEN America’s Index of Banned Books. Her other books were banned 13 times. This year, Anderson won the highest honor for children's literature, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, which comes with a gift of 5 million Swedish kronor, or about $500,000. Anderson donated $100,000 of that prize to PEN America, and talked to the free speech organization about the current book-banning crisis.
Professor Justin Driver on Tinker v Des Moines PEN America 2023-10-30 | Have students’ rights always been protected under the U.S. Constitution? Listen to Justin Driver explain how the Tinker v Des Moines case calcified students’ rights to free speech and protest at school.
PEN America 2023 Emerging Voices Fellowship Final Reading PEN America 2023-10-26 | The PEN America 2023 Emerging Voices fellows read together as the culmination of their fellowship.Fellows: Vera Blossom, Lindsay Ferguson, Joy McKinley, Jassmine Parks, Arianne Elena Payne, Zen Ren, Denise Rhone, Kristen Yoo Shim, Layli Shirani, D’mani Thomas, JJ Xiao, and Lucy Zhou Mentors: Fatimah Asghar, Anelise Chen, Alechia Dow, Meng Jin, Lisa Ko, Lilliam Li, Jasmine Mans, Airea D. Matthews, Deesha Philyaw, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Tanaïs, and Lidia YuknavitchThe Emerging Voices Fellowship provides a five-month immersive mentorship program for early-career writers from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the publishing world. The program is committed to cultivating the careers of Black writers, and serves writers who identify as Indigenous, persons of color, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, writers with disabilities, and those living outside of urban centers. Through curated one-on-one mentorship and introductions to editors, agents, and publishers, in addition to workshops on editing, marketing, and creating a platform, the five-month fellowship nurtures creative community, provides a professional skill-set, and demystifies the path to publication—with the ultimate goal of diversifying the publishing and media industries.The Emerging Voices Fellowship grew out of PEN America Los Angeles’s forum “Writing the Immigrant Experience,” held at the Los Angeles Central Library in March 1994, which explored the experiences of first- and second-generation immigrant writers. In 1996, PEN America Los Angeles initiated Emerging Voices as a mentorship program designed to provide professional resources to writers seeking financial and creative support to pursue their craft professionally. In 2021, virtually accessible programs and an expanded cohort of fellows will further the goal of diversifying the publishing and media industries by enabling participation from writers across the country.This program is made possible by the generous support of The Yvonne & Michael Marsh Family Foundation.Video editing: Tempe HaleMusic supervision: Bennett Shaeffer of dublabArtwork: Studio La Maria2023 Emerging Voices Fellowship Management: Jared Jackson, TC. Mann, and Clarisse Rosaz ShariyfVisit Us: pen.org/emerging-voices-fellowship
PEN Americas Jonathan Friedman Testifies at Congressional Hearing on Book Bans PEN America 2023-10-19 | Jonathan Friedman testified about the alarming attack on free expression through book bans at American schools.Friedman testified before the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Hearing in an Oct. 19 hearing, “Protecting Kids: Combating Graphic, Explicit Content in School Libraries.”
In the Same Boat: Narratives of Borders and Migration PEN America 2023-10-10 | In the Same Boat: Narratives of Borders and MigrationLearn more about the writers and the event at worldvoices.pen.org/session/in-the-same-boat-narratives-of-borders-and-migration Friday, May 13, 2022 Featuring: Jean Guerrero, Ofelia Zepeda, Ousman Umar, Omar El Akkad, and Yuri HerreraWhere there are borders there are migrants hoping to find a better life on the other side. Authors depicting the universal desire for refuge and respite from within the most urgent circumstances—whether narratives of escape from political violence or the ravages of climate change—convene in a timely and ever-relevant conversation moderated by investigative journalist, and author of Hatemonger, Jean Guerrero. Omar El Akkad’s novel (What Strange Paradise) and Ousman Umar’s memoir (North to Paradise) are gripping migration stories of children navigating a hostile world. Mexican writer and political scientist Yuri Herrera (A Silent Fury: The El Bordo Fire) has long amplified border narratives in his work, characterized by exploitation, violence, and injustice. Tohono O’odham poet and intellectual Ofelia Zepeda’s work explores the often under-excavated intersections of migration and Indigenous experiences, most recently in Where Clouds Are Formed. Together, they address both distinct and intersecting crises that leave people displaced, uprooted, and seeking safety in new contexts—and their collision with the surging nationalism and xenophobia fortifying, and further weaponizing, the borders between us.Sponsored by Amazon Crossing.
Closing Night: An Evening of Forbidden Books PEN America 2023-10-10 | Closing Night: An Evening of Forbidden BooksLearn more about the writers and the event at worldvoices.pen.org/session/closing-night-an-evening-of-forbidden-books Saturday, May 14, 2022Featuring: Paul Zelinsky, Molly Crabapple, Mark Micchelli, Mai Khoi, Wajahat Ali, Susan Kuklin, V (formerly Eve Ensler), Eileen Myles, Jason Reynolds, Tanya Talaga, Tochi Onyebuchi, and Fatima ShaikIn 1982, a year during which the Island Trees School District v. Pico case opened fervent debates around the First Amendment within American public schools, PEN America organized an evening of readings of forbidden books that brought together iconic contemporary American writers and performers—including Toni Morrison, Donald Barthelme, and Margaret Hamilton—to celebrate the vitality of works that had been censored. As the U.S. now experiences a wave of educational gag orders, the country has seen an onslaught of book bans: with over 1300 counted by PEN America in half a year. In response to this disturbing trend, PEN America revived this event, gathering a star-studded celebration of the freedom to write, read, and think featuring dramatic readings from some of the most “dangerous” texts ever printed. These stories and poems have been ripped from the hands of young readers and deemed harmful, often for their revelation of important truths, underrepresented perspectives, and expansion of imaginations and worldviews.The evening highlights recent banned books, and other vital, once verboten, works by writers including Toni Morrison, Art Spiegelman, Kurt Vonnegut, and more. Wajahat Ali, New York Times contributing op-ed writer, public speaker and author of the recently published book Go Back to Where You Came From will host. Presented in collaboration with the PEN America’s Children’s and Young Adult Book Committee and Free Expression and Education Program. ASL interpretation provided by Pro Bono ASL. Presented with support from Featherston Booktown, Verb Wellington, and ReadNZ.
PEN Letters: A Centenary Celebration PEN America 2023-10-10 | PEN Letters: A Centenary CelebrationLearn more about the writers and the event at worldvoices.pen.org/session/pen-letters-a-centenary-celebrationSaturday, May 14, 2022Featuring: Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Isaac Fitzgerald, Jewher Ilham, Meghan O’Rourke, and Elisha Lawson. This 100-year journey through archival letters, notes, and speeches features world-renowned writers as they transform an international dinner club into a global force defending free expression. Through the words of Toni Morrison, Jack Kerouac, Larry Kramer, Don DeLillo, Grace Paley, Margaret Atwood, Robert Frost, Susan Sontag, Mary McCarthy, Kurt Vonnegut, and many others will transport us to moments in history when writers mobilized to defend expression and debate artists’ responsibility in the fight for a free and open exchange of ideas. A selection of humorous and dramatic PEN member resignation and acceptance letters and administrative correspondence will be weaved together, and archival audio and visual materials will punctuate powerful moments.
