Plus: Standing with PEN Belarus

View this email in your browser ([link removed])
[link removed]
The PEN Ten: An Interview with the 2021-2022 PEN America Writing for Justice Fellows ([link removed])
[link removed]

The PEN Ten ([link removed]) is PEN America’s weekly interview series. This week, PEN America’s Prison and Justice Writing summer interns organized the interview answers of the 2021-2022 Writing for Justice Fellows ([link removed]) into a rich collective tapestry of advice on writing on sociopolitical issues, including: "remember that you’re capable of communicating your truth better than any one," "study the past, but also envision the future," "ground yourself in your community," and "work out a unique way to say something that matters to people."

PEN America’s Writing for Justice Fellowship commissions writers—emerging or established—to create written works of lasting merit that illuminate critical issues related to mass incarceration and catalyze public debate. Learn more about this year’s Fellows and their projects ([link removed]) and read their responses ›› ([link removed])
Support PEN Belarus: Add Your Name ([link removed])
[link removed]

Amid a flood of crackdowns on human rights organizations and media outlets this week, the Belarusian Justice Ministry moved to shut down PEN America’s sister organization PEN Belarus ([link removed]) on Thursday. We stand with the writers of PEN Belarus and are determined to ensure that their vital voices are heard and their rights to express themselves vindicated.
[link removed]

In the spirit of solidarity with the people of Belarus, we're also sharing today this poem from Belarusian poet Dmitry Strotsev's compilation of "protest poems"—known as The Fallen Belarus. Strotsev has written poetry about the August 2020 Belarusian election and subsequent violence of protesters.

This is How We Win

victory
is comprised
of barely distinguishable
homeopathic gestures

this is how a hundred thousand
gather on marches in Minsk
droplets of yards
streams of streets

into a human ocean

10.09.2020

Add your name to PEN America’s petition supporting the people of Belarus ([link removed]) .
ADD YOUR NAME ([link removed])
CLOSING AUGUST 1: Submissions for the 2022 PEN America Literary Awards ([link removed])
[link removed]

There's still time for you to submit to the 2022 PEN America Literary Awards ([link removed]) , which are open through Sunday, August 1st! Help us spread the word and encourage the submission of your favorite books published in the 2021 calendar year. For questions or concerns regarding the awards, please contact [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

Learn more about the awards and how to submit here ([link removed]) ›› ([link removed])

The PEN Pod ([link removed])
[link removed]

The PEN Pod: Resilience, Struggle, and the Fight for Freedom in Belarus with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya ([link removed])

On this episode of The PEN Pod, we spoke with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, on the heels of the news that the Belarusian regime intends to dissolve PEN Belarus ([link removed]) , our sister organization. We spoke with her about the recent crackdowns on human rights and media organizations in the country, what’s next for the opposition movement, and what gives her hope. Listen now. ([link removed])

============================================================
** Join PEN ([link removed])
** Donate ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Website ([link removed])

Get More News, Events, and Updates from ** PEN America › ([link removed])

You are receiving this e-mail because you opted in at PEN.org or a PEN America-sponsored event.

** manage subscriptions ([link removed])
| ** unsubscribe ([link removed])
| ** contact us (mailto:[email protected])

Copyright © 2021 PEN America | 588 Broadway Suite 303, New York, NY 10012 USA