April 25 — May 1

More than 100 writers from 40 nations convene in New York City to celebrate the power of the writer’s voice as a bold and vital element of public discourse. Dare to view the world from a fresh perspective at stages across the city, including the festival’s hubs—The Standard, New York and the High Line. The program features panel discussions, one-on-one conversations, readings, performances, and much more.

Jane Ciabattari
Written on Water

Location location location. The Standard Hotel, the High Line, the Lighthouse on Chelsea Piers, created a fluid sense of community for writers ... [More]

Anelise Chen for Anderbo.com
Abdellah Taïa & Self-Mythology

Abdellah Taïa is a writer who reminds us of art's power to transcend boundaries and break barriers. Sartre famously wrote that genius is what man invents when he is looking for a way out ... [More]

Deji Olukotun
Writing about boxing...

"Two men raise their fists." It's not a great sentence. But it's enough to demonstrate the tension inherent in the sport of boxing. Boxing at its best is high drama. [More]

Chad Post
Sex in a Trunk

I think it might have been because Kim Young-ha is such an earnest entertainer. Or maybe because Bruce Fulton was such an even-spoken and perceptive moderator. [More]

[more Festival blogs]

Videos
Podcasts
Photos
Blogs

Miss any events? Check out the World Voices Festival multimedia page for audio, video, and photos from the 2011 PEN World Voices Festival.

[PWV11 multimedia archive]

Russia in Two Acts
A World Champion chess player, now journalist, unravels the complexities of Russia’s cultural and geopolitical landscape. With Jamey Gambrell, Garry Kasparov, Vladmir Sorokin, and Fedor Svarovskiy; moderated by Christian Caryl.

[event details]

In Conversation: Jonathan Galassi and Joachim Sartorius with Rosanna Warren
At the heart of this event is Galassi’s new translation of Canti and the question of a translator-cum-poet’s take on how to reinvigorate a classic text in the current literary climate.

[event details]

From The Anxiety to The Anatomy of Influence: A Converstion with Harold Bloom
With Harold Bloom and Paul Holdengräber. Now in his eighth decade, Bloom reflects back on his life-long love affair with literature and recites some of his favorite poems.

[event details]
 

The Sixth Annual Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture: Wole Soyinka
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Nigerian poet-dramatist, Wole Soyinka, writes: “Books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress the truth.” At the closing event of the PEN World Voices Festival, he presents a thoughtful examination of censorship—and a writer’s purpose and responsibility in a climate of forced silences and intolerance.

[event details]

 [complete schedule of events]