PEN America Inaugurates Festival
The American wing of the prestigious writer's organization launches PEN World Voices: the New York Festival of International Literature from April 16 to April 22. Writers from 45 countries will participate in a weeklong series of readings, discussions and tributes. The festival aims to celebrate and promote writers from other countries, and discuss issues faced by writers outside the U.S. "PEN World Voices hopes to open a global conversation in which the shared human concerns that are central to literature take precedence over issues of ideology or nationality," say the organizers. Events include discussions on the continuing impact of Don Quixote after 400 years, a panel on "international noir" writing, a reading of works by authors whose works have been banned, and a readings from Strange Times, My Dear: The PEN Anthology of Contemporary Iranian Literature, which was banned from publication in the U.S. until a court decision allowed it. Several authors will hold online forums throughout the week, and some events include lunch. Most events are free.