This September, as we contend with the rapid collapse of the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan amid the approach of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, we must also reckon with the cultural legacy of 9/11. Adam Wilson, author of the novel Sensation Machines, curates a reading list for us on the topic: “So what exactly is that legacy? As recent events have made clear, a big part of it is the War in Afghanistan, the repercussions of which will continue to be felt for a long time to come. But the attacks on the Twin Towers had other less visible effects as well.” Check out the reading list ››
After a year of isolation, we were thrilled to kick off our first open house chapter event in Dallas on August 24 at The Wild Detectives. Featuring a conversation with writers Kendra Allen and Casey Gerald, the event took place in a beautiful outdoor setting and included live readings and cocktails.
The PEN Ten with Kia Corthron: “For artists working in fiction, we have more protection as our work is addressing what has been exposed rather than participating in the exposure itself. We also have the option to present thinly veiled fact as fiction. The greater peril is self-censorship, which often starts with self-denial.”
The PEN Ten with Morgan Parker: “Do whatever you want. That may sound glib, but I mean it: especially for poets, working in a genre with traditional formal constraints, it’s important to remember you’re making art. There’s no poetry police.”
The PEN Ten with Mirin Fader: “As a sports writer, I like to profile people that have interesting backstories or have compelling personalities. Sometimes people reduce athletes to what they can do on the basketball court or football field, but my approach is to figure out what drives them as people. What shaped them into the adults they grew into.”
The PEN Pod with Maurice Carlos Ruffin
”In New Orleans, sometimes they call people who are involved in storytelling or in music or the arts—they call them culture bearers. We bear the culture. We carry the culture forward.”
The PEN Pod with Spencer Ackerman
“What’s on display in Afghanistan is the results of 20 years of war. It’s not a departure from 20 years of war. What the United States did throughout this entire generation is what brought us to this moment. It is not something that can be cleaved away.”
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