These Truths

PEN World Voices Festival
  • 4.7 (3)
  • BOOKS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

These Truths brings the writers and artists of the 2020 PEN World Voices Festival right into your home. Each week, writers from America’s premier international literary festival will explore works that wrestle with contested history, challenge the fabrications served to us on an almost daily basis, and awaken us to the beauty and power of storytelling. When the factual basis of our daily lives is constantly undermined, this podcast explores how literature can help us arrive at the truth and a deeper understanding of what connects us.

Episodes

  1. 07/01/2020

    Realizing a New Theatre with Lynn Nottage and Jeremy O. Harris

    In our final conversation, the acclaimed, genre-breaking Black playwrights Lynn Nottage and Jeremy O. Harris join forces for a compelling conversation about where, how, and why they make theater, the importance of inclusion within the art form, for playwrights and audience members alike, and imagining what a new theatre can look like in the midst of a pandemic and cultural uprising. ------ These Truths is a new podcast from the PEN World Voices Festival, exploring literature and the deeper truths that connect us. In a moment that risks tearing our world apart, and when the factual basis of our daily lives is constantly undermined, this podcast explores how literature can help us arrive at the truth and a deeper understanding of what connects us. Each week, authors wrestle with urgent questions about contested histories, foundational myths, and dangerous manipulations of language rampant in our daily lives. This podcast brings writers and artists of America’s premier international literary festival into homes everywhere while introducing listeners to new books, ideas, and authors on the vanguard of contemporary literature. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @penworldvoices PEN America thanks the following sponsors for their support of the 2020 PEN World Voices Festival: The National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (New York City) Amazon Literary Partnership The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Acton Family Giving

    1h 3m

  2. 06/24/2020

    Round and Round Together with Fatima Shaik, Amy Nathan, and Sharon Langley

    How do you explain segregation or the Movement for Black Lives to kids? In this conversation, Fatima Shaik speaks with co-authors Amy Nathan and Sharon Langley about their picture book, A Ride to Remember: A Civil Rights Story, which tells the story of how a community came together to integrate a public park and its carousel. These award winning authors share their perspective on how caregivers and educators can explain democracy’s benefits and failures to kids. PEN America thanks the following sponsors for their support of the 2020 PEN World Voices Festival: The National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (New York City) Amazon Literary Partnership The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Acton Family Giving

    23 min

  3. 06/17/2020

    Navigating Truths with Ishmael Beah and Alexis Okeowo

    In this conversation, Sierra Leonean-American author Ishmael Beah and New Yorker staff writer Alexis Okeowo discuss how fiction can help us navigate some of the most unrelenting humanitarian crises of our age. To enjoy more from the writers of the Digital PEN World Voices Festival, visit pen.org/worldvoicesdigital, and stay up to date on our latest offerings by following us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @penworldvoices PEN America thanks the following sponsors for their support of the 2020 PEN World Voices Festival: The National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (New York City) Amazon Literary Partnership The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Acton Family Giving

    27 min

  4. 06/10/2020

    Prison & Justice Writing with Reginald Dwayne Betts

    In this conversation, we hear from poet Reginald Dwayne Betts and folks from PEN America’s Prison & Justice Writing Program about how literature deepens our understanding of mass incarceration at a pivotal moment in time. Featuring Caits Meissner and Robbie Pollock of the Prison & Justice Writing Program at PEN America  with original work by Yvette M. Louisell and Justin Rovillos Monson and original music provided by Kenyatta Hughes. PEN America thanks the following sponsors for their support of the 2020 PEN World Voices Festival: The National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (New York City) Amazon Literary Partnership The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Acton Family Giving

    36 min

  5. 06/03/2020

    Cry, The Beloved Country With Tatiana Voltskya, Tahir Hamut, and Burhan Sönmez

    In this episode, writers from across the globe, including Russian poet Tatiana Voltskaya with Russian writer and translator Elina Alter, Uyghur poet Tahir Hamut with historian and translator Joshua L. Freeman, and Turkish novelist Burhan Sönmez, join in solidarity to share powerful messages of resistance, resilience, and hope responding to injustice in their parts of the world. First, Tatiana Voltskaya shares a poem about how the past haunts us, and how having a terrible foundation, metaphorically and also literally being built on a swamp, has made St. Petersburg, and Russia, dangerous and frightening. Next, Tahir Hamut reads “What is It?,” a poem he wrote shortly after fleeing persecution in the Uyghur region, and which reflects his inner turmoil in having to leave home for safety in America and is filled with imagery of his distant homeland. Finally, Burhan Sönmez shares a new reflection on the complicated feeling of home, as his memories of a less than idyllic childhood confront the current harsh realities of crumbling democracy in his native Turkey. PEN America thanks the following sponsors for their support of the 2020 PEN World Voices Festival: The National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (New York City) Amazon Literary Partnership The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Acton Family Giving

    26 min

  6. 05/27/2020

    Respecting the Silence with Fernanda Melchor and Yuri Herrera

    In this conversation, writer and journalist Fernanda Melchor, author of the International Booker Prize shortlisted novel Hurricane Season, speaks with professor and writer Yuri Herrera, whose book, A Silent Fury: The El Bordo Mine Fire, will be published in June. The two Mexican writers  talk about their latest books and the ways in which literature opens the door to a richer, more complicated understanding of culture. To enjoy more from the writers of the Digital PEN World Voices Festival, visit pen.org/worldvoicesdigital, and stay up to date on our latest offerings by following us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @penworldvoices PEN America thanks the following sponsors for their support of the 2020 PEN World Voices Festival: The National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (New York City) Amazon Literary Partnership The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Acton Family Giving

    35 min

  7. 05/19/2020

    DREAMing Out Loud with Álvaro Enrigue

    In this conversation, Álvaro Enrigue, the founder of PEN’s DREAMing Out Loud Program, introduces us to the writing workshop he created to amplify the voices of DREAMers, DACA recipients, and other undocumented immigrants. We also hear reflections and stories from some of his students in this special episode about how storytelling challenges the way we think about those marginalized by their immigration status. PEN America thanks the following sponsors for their support of the 2020 PEN World Voices Festival: The National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (New York City) Amazon Literary Partnership The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Acton Family Giving

    23 min

  8. 05/13/2020

    Ben Okri’s The Freedom Artist with Anderson Tepper

    In this conversation, novelist, poet, playwright, essayist and short story writer, Ben Okri speaks with Anderson Tepper, member of the editorial staff of Vanity Fair, about his latest novel, The Freedom Artist. Together, they discuss the power of myth and the role of the writer in times of crisis. For more from the PEN World Voices Festival, visit us at pen.org/worldvoicesdigital PEN America thanks the following sponsors for their support of the 2020 PEN World Voices Festival: The National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (New York City) Amazon Literary Partnership The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Acton Family Giving

    26 min

  9. 05/05/2020

    Fighting Words with Elif Shafak and John Freeman

    In our first conversation, John Freeman, author and executive editor of Literary Hub, joins Turkish novelist and activist Elif Shafak to discuss how language operates in our contemporary public sphere. They single out words that have been hollowed out to conceal unpopular and even terrible truths, as well as others that still have the power to upend dialogues where the greater good is under siege. PEN America thanks the following sponsors for their support of the 2020 PEN World Voices Festival: The National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (New York City) Amazon Literary Partnership The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Acton Family Giving

    33 min

  10. SEASON 1 TRAILER

    Trailer: These Truths

    Starting Wednesday, May 6 These Truths, a World Voices Podcast, brings the writers and artists of the 2020 PEN World Voices Festival right into your home. Each week, writers from America’s premier international literary festival will explore works that wrestle with contested history, challenge the fabrications served to us on an almost daily basis, and awaken us to the beauty and power of storytelling. In a moment that risks tearing our world apart, when the factual basis of our daily lives is constantly undermined, this podcast explores how literature can help us arrive at the truth and a deeper understanding of what connects us. Learn more about upcoming episodes and other offerings in this year's digital World Voices Festival by visiting us at http://pen.org/worldvoices Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @penworldvoices PEN America thanks the following sponsors for their support of the 2020 PEN World Voices Festival: The National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (New York City) Amazon Literary Partnership The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Acton Family Giving

    1 min

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

4.7
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

These Truths brings the writers and artists of the 2020 PEN World Voices Festival right into your home. Each week, writers from America’s premier international literary festival will explore works that wrestle with contested history, challenge the fabrications served to us on an almost daily basis, and awaken us to the beauty and power of storytelling. When the factual basis of our daily lives is constantly undermined, this podcast explores how literature can help us arrive at the truth and a deeper understanding of what connects us.

Information

  • Creator
    PEN World Voices Festival
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © PEN World Voices Festival
  • Show Website
    These Truths