There are certain “first principles” that must be respected, no matter whom they appear to benefit in the short run. One is the right to free expression, including the freedom to write and read, with access to both harmonious and offensive points of view.
In the United States, we are fortunate that Pen America has championed the freedom to write for the past 102 years, by ensuring people “have the freedom to create literature, to convey information and ideas, to express their views and to access the views, ideas and literatures of others.”
Almost tragically, a hard corps of American writers — some prominent, others emerging — have, evidently, set out to all but destroy Pen America for the perceived sin of being insufficiently condemnatory of Israel’s Gaza war.
They have already forced the cancelation of two of Pen America’s most important events for 2024 — the World Voices Festival (founded by Salman Rushdie in 2004) and the annual literary awards ceremony — and have now demanded the resignation of Executive Director Suzanne Nossel, President Jennifer Finney Boylan and the entire executive committee. (Disclosure: I am a Pen America member.)
It's not that Pen America has been silent on the Gaza war. The organization has issued over 40 statements denouncing the “immense loss of Palestinian lives, including authors, poets, artists and journalists, and the destruction of museums, libraries and mosques that contribute to a vibrant........