Pen: An Illustrated History

PEN has been instrumental in defending truth and facts. In fact, no other organization has done more to inoculate Americans against disinformation. No other organization has done more to protect the voices that the forces of racism and hatred seek to silence. –Stephen King One hundred years of protecting freedom of expression-literature knows no frontiers

Defending freedom of expression - Supporting persecuted writers - Promoting literary culture

What was PEN’s role in shaping the very concept of human rights even before it was adopted by the United Nations in 1948? How did PEN develop fundamental ideas on free speech as well as the equality of languages and literatures?

This book tells the extraordinary story of how writers from around the world placed the celebration of literature and the defense of free speech at the center of humanity’s struggle against repression and terror. The extraordinary writers who have been PEN cases is a history of bravery and include, Federico Garcia Lorca, Stefan Zweig, Musine Kokalari, Wole Soyinka, Salman Rushdie, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Anna Politkovskaya, Hrant Dink, Svetlana Alexievich, and many others.

PEN was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship, intellectual co-operation, and exchange between writers from around the world. It has grown into a worldwide network of writers, a community extended to more than 100 countries who for 100 years has worked to celebrate all literatures without exception and protect freedom of expression.

Today, PEN plays a unique part in the defense of free expression, celebration of literary excellence, amplification of marginalized voices, and the fostering of dialogue across political and ideological boundaries.