Commentary

Arundhati Roy: “Literature provides shelter”

By Neel Dhanesha May 20, 2019

In this year’s PEN America Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture, Arundhati Roy spoke about the power of literature to challenge governments.

PEN World Voices Arts & Culture

Commentary

Six Writers on the Power of Telling the Truth

By Fran Bigman May 16, 2019

At a panel at this year’s PEN America World Voices Festival, six writers discuss the empowering effects of sharing difficult experiences.

PEN World Voices Arts & Culture

Commentary

Two “Artists of the Air” on the Limits of Time and Space

By Alan Scherstuhl May 16, 2019

At a panel at this year’s PEN America World Voices Festival, high-wire walker Phillippe Petit and extreme-action pioneer Elizabeth Streb discuss their death-defying art.

PEN World Voices Arts & Culture

Commentary

Five Poets Reflect on the Life and Work of Yusef Komunyakaa

By Spencer Green May 16, 2019

At a panel at this year’s PEN America World Voices Festival, five poets discuss the pain and self-actualization in the poems of Komunyakaa.

PEN World Voices Arts & Culture

Commentary

A Nation’s Conscience

By Dan Xin Huang January 31, 2019

Peking University and the legacy of Chinese intellectual independence.

Asia & OceaniaEducation

Commentary

A Goodbye Memo to Mackenzie Bezos from Husband Jeff as He Transitions to New Love, Alexa

By Phineas Lambert January 16, 2019

A natural next step in the CEO’s Amazonian evolution.

HumorTechnology & the Future

Commentary

The Surprising Story of Hubert Julian

By José García Escobar January 15, 2019

The man who challenged the CIA and sold weapons to the president of Guatemala

AmericasHistory

Commentary

The Heavy Load

By Adam Dalva December 31, 2018

A New Year's kiss brings an unexpected surprise.

The Kiss Family & Relationships

Commentary

(How to) Suffer Well: Depression Sitting Still

By Sihan Tan October 24, 2018

Is the act of enduring hardship a virtue, or just an exercise in malaise?

Arts & CultureAsia & Oceania

Commentary

Project for a Trip to the Golden Venture Crash Site

By Lisa Chen September 19, 2018

Once I learned the club was in proximity to the crash site, my obsession with calculating the distance between the two quickly overtook any other interest. The sedimentary layers of history, and how close they are to the surface, give me vertigo. I wanted to feel time spin.

GovernmentRaceUSA

Commentary

Dessert in the Land of Plenty

By Ed Winstead May 7, 2018

A history of carrot cake in America.

Deserts AmericasHumor