PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide

association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous

International PEN centers PEN centres are the federated members of PEN International. List According to the website of PEN International. Africa * Afar Centre * Afrikaans Centre * Algerian Centre * Egyptian Centre * Eritrean Centre in Exile * Ethiopian Centre * Gambia ...

in over 100 countries. Other goals included: to emphasise the role of literature in the development of mutual understanding and world culture; to fight for

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

; and to act as a powerful voice on behalf of writers harassed, imprisoned and sometimes killed for their views.

History

The first PEN Club was founded at the Florence Restaurant in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on October 5, 1921, by

Catherine Amy Dawson Scott Catherine Amy Dawson Scott (August 1865 – 4 November 1934) was an English writers, English writer, playwright and poet. She is best known as a co-founder (in 1921) of International PEN, a worldwide association of writers. In her later years sh ...

, with

John Galsworthy John Galsworthy (; 14 August 1867 – 31 January 1933) was an English novelist and playwright. Notable works include ''The Forsyte Saga'' (1906–1921) and its sequels, ''A Modern Comedy'' and ''End of the Chapter''. He won the Nobel Prize i ...

as its first president. Its first members included

Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...

, Elizabeth Craig,

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

, and

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Structure and status

PEN International is headquartered in London and composed of autonomous PEN Centres in over 100 countries around the world, each of which are open to writers, journalists, translators, historians and others actively engaged in any branch of literature, regardless of nationality, race, colour, or religion. It is a non-governmental organization in formal consultative relations with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO and Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

Charter

The PEN Charter is based on resolutions passed at its International Congresses and is summarised by PEN itself as follows:

Writers in Prison Committee

PEN International Writers in Prison Committee works on behalf of persecuted writers worldwide. Established in 1960 in response to increasing attempts to silence voices of dissent by imprisoning writers, the Writers in Prison Committee monitors the cases of as many as 900 writers annually who have been imprisoned, tortured, threatened, attacked, made to disappear, and killed for the peaceful practice of their profession. It publishes a bi-annual Case List documenting free expression violations against writers around the world. The committee also coordinates the PEN International membership's campaigns that aim towards an end to these attacks and to the suppression of

worldwide. PEN International Writers in Prison Committee is a founding member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), a global network of 90 non-governmental organisations that monitors censorship worldwide and defends journalists, writers, internet users and others who are persecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression. It is also a member of IFEX's Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG), a coalition of twenty-one free expression organisations that began lobbying the Tunisian government to improve its human rights record in 2005. Since the Arab Spring events that led to the collapse of the Tunisian government, TMG has worked to ensure constitutional guarantees of free expression and human rights within the country. On 15 January 2016, PEN International joined human rights organisations and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, along with seven other organisations, to protest against the 2013 imprisonment and 2015 sentencing of musicians Mehdi Rajabian and Yousef Emadi, and filmmaker Hossein Rajabian, and called on the head of the judiciary and other Iranian authorities to drop the charges against them. Salil Tripathi is the Chair of this committee.

PEN affiliated awards

The various PEN affiliations offer many literary awards across a broad spectrum.

Memorials

A grove of trees beside Lake Burley Griffin forms the PEN International memorial in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The dedication reads: "The spirit dies in all of us who keep silent in the face of tyranny." The memorial was officially opened on 17 November 1997. A cast-iron sculpture entitled ''Witness'', commissioned by English PEN to mark their 90th anniversary and created by Antony Gormley, stands outside the British Library in London. It depicts an empty chair, and is inspired by the symbol used for 30 years by English PEN to represent imprisoned writers around the world. It was unveiled on 13 December 2011.

Members

*Homero Aridjis, President :wikt:Emeritus, Emeritus. *Carmen Aristegui *Margaret Atwood *Thomas G. Bergin *Heinrich Böll *Jorge Luis Borges *Marcelo Moraes Caetano *Karel Čapek *J. M. Coetzee *

* Elizabeth Craig *Sidney Dark *Maria Dąbrowska *Hermann Friedmann *Nadine Gordimer *Gloria Guardia *Zofia Kossak-Szczucka *Robie Macauley *Thomas Mann *Predrag Matvejević *Arthur Miller *Charles Langbridge Morgan *Toni Morrison *Zofia Nałkowska *Octavio Paz *Harold Pinter *J. K. Rowling *Michael Scammell *

*Mieczysław Smolarski *William Styron *Carl Tighe *Luisa Valenzuela *Theodor Kramer

Presidents

References

Bibliography

* .