PEN Festival Reading List

The 9th Annual PEN World Voices Festival wrapped last week and left me longing to learn more about many of its featured writers. The festival's focus was on works that possessed bravery--either in form or content. Some of the writers in attendance displayed a valiant political spirit while others showed boldness in their writing style. All the writers I was lucky enough to see proved to be courageous in their ability to openly share their thoughts and communicate their creativity to an audience.

There were so many wonderful speakers at this year's PEN festival and I'm excited to learn more about them and their literary works. Here's a short but punchy list of recommended readings from writers who attended the festival:

-Adania Shibli's Touch

-Joy Harjo's Crazy Brave

-Shahrnush Parsipur's Kissing the Sword

-Shane Bauer's Mother Jones article "Solitary in Iran Nearly Broke Me. Then I Went Inside America's Prisons."

-Earl Lovelace's Is Just a Movie

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This Week in NYC: Brave Lit presented by PEN America!

A fiery exchange between Salman Rushdie and a political heckler, a former Onion writer filling in for a former U.S. Military Commissions prosecutor, live drum music, and some stellar readings were all part of a compelling opening night event of the 9th Annual PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature.

The theme of this year's festival is bravery and tonight's opening night readings at Cooper Union set forth a rather spirited tenor. A man who was protesting PEN America's recent appointment of Suzanne Nossel as their new Executive Director disrupted the start of the event by heckling the introductory speakers. Instead of forcing him to leave, the PEN staff showed their respect for debate and free speech by asking the man to remain quiet for the readings after he had been allowed to say his piece (and distribute flyers explaining his dissent). While Salman Rushdie and he exchanged some heated words, the activists/heckler did stay to watch the rest of the show silently. With that intro, the PEN Festival showed that it's an open forum for political discourse. The remainder of the event showed that the Festival means to celebrate both political and creative bravery in literature. Hosted by former Onion writer and current best-selling author, Baratunde Thurston (who stepped in for the absent speaker Lt. Col. in the Army Reserve Darrel Vandeveld to do a dialogue with Lt. Col. in the U.S. Air Force David Frakt about the trial of Guantanamo detainee Mohammed Jawad), tonight's readings were performed by a group of writers diverse in national background and literary style. From Native American writer Joy Harjo's tuneful poetry to Caribbean writer Earl Lovelace's humorous prose, the evening's literary performers all confidently voiced the passion, resilience, and defiant power that literature is capable of in all its engaging forms.

This year's festival is off to a bold start and I'm looking forward to a week of fantastic literary events. I've highlighted several upcoming happenings below but make sure to visit PEN's website for the Festival's full schedule and ticket info.

Kissing the Sword: A Prison Memoir by Shahrnush Parsipur
Friday, May 3rd at Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU.

Obsession: Joy Harjo on Time
Friday, May 3rd at The Standard, East Village Hotel.

Watching the Meter: Poetry from the Taxi Drivers Workshop
Saturday, May 4th at Joe's Pub.

All That’s Left to You: Palestinian Writers in Conversation
Saturday, May 4th at The New School. Moderated by Judith Butler.

Literature: The Lock and Key
Saturday, May 4th at The Public Theater. With Shane Bauer and Laura Secor.

Obsession: Naomi Wolf on Truth
Saturday, May 4th at The Standard, East Village Hotel. See full post

9th Annual PEN World Voices Festival

This year, for their 9th annual PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature, PEN America will celebrate writers who have shown bravery in their work and personal lives. The festival will host a slew of lectures, workshops, and performances that will feature numerous political and talented writers such as Judith Butler, Joy Harjo, Naomi Wolf, Yusef Komunyakaa, Salman Rushdie, and this year's festival honoree US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

The festival will take place throughout New York City from April 29th-May 5th. To all my fellow lit and politics nerds: I can't recommend hitting up this festival enough! A full schedule of events can be accessed here: http://worldvoices.pen.org/festival-event-calendar-page. While a few events are free, most require individual tickets so I recommend taking a look at the lineup now and purchasing tickets in advance.

If you sadly can't make this year's festival, make sure to check back here at ATFG for festival updates and coverage!


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PEN World Voices Festival 2012: New Technology & Conventional Literature Strike a Balance

I had the total lit-nerdy thrill to attend some exciting events during the 8th annual PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature. PEN American Center is the American chapter of International PEN, which is a literary and human rights organization that fights for the freedom of expression of writers all over the world. This year, PEN American Center's festival celebrated the ways in which literary expression expands across multiple artistic and technological mediums. The festival took place in various New York venues, from April 30th through May 6th, and included such authors as Martin Amis, Margaret Atwood, Jennifer Egan, Tony Kushner, Marjane Satrapi, Brian Selznick, and Salman Rushdie (who served as the Festival Chair).

From Margaret Atwood arguing for the internet as a useful literary tool, to Jennifer Egan discussing how Power Point worked conceptually and structurally in her novel, the festival events I attended proved that literature is evolving with (and not being destroyed by) new technology. The festival also showcased writers like Marjane Satrapi and Brian Selznick who are breaking literary conventions with their genre-challenging and medium-crossing narratives.

Highlights from my experience at the festival, after the jump.
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PEN: A Festival of International Literature in New York City

Literary geeks of New York! The PEN Festival, which promotes international literature, will be held in our great city from April 30th through May 6th. Commemorating the 90th anniversary of the PEN American Center, the festival will have tons of excellent events featuring a diverse group of artists. The events include discussions, performances, and screenings, all celebrating contemporary works and topics in literature. Two events that stand out to me are: Opening Night—The Kronos Quartet: Exit Strategies, a collaborative performance exploring the relationship between music and literature; and a film screening and discussion with the multi-talented Marjane Satrapi, Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis and Poulet aux Prunes (Chicken with Plums).

You can find out more about the festival's events, ticketing information, and the PEN America Center here. See full post