PEN International : an illustrated history / Carles Torner, et. al.

Origins. Beginnings : the 1920s -- Towards a supra-political stand : 1930 to 1948 -- A brief history of the PEN Charter -- A world republic of letters. Writers in exile -- Writers in prison -- Translation and linguistic rights -- Writers for peace -- Women writers -- Map of PEN centres in 2021 -- Key documents of PEN.

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 García 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.

English