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What to See at the PEN Festival

Events to pencil in

by
Marc Tracy
April 29, 2010
Ariel Dorfman.( Wikipedia)
Ariel Dorfman.( Wikipedia)

The PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature hit New York City a few days ago, but it doesn’t really heat up until today, and it goes strong through Sunday. The event we’re most psyched for is, naturally, the Sunday afternoon talkinterview with journalist Michael Orthofer, this evening.

• A distinguished panel will discuss the work of the classic Austrian-Jewish Modernist novelist Stefan Zweig, Friday evening.

• Three authors who have adapted The Diary of Anne Frank in various ways, including novelist Francine Prose, discuss it, Saturday afternoon. (Bonus! Check out our Vox Tablet with Prose.)

• As part of a “Translation Slam,” one side of the transliterary “duel” will be reading the work of Alex Epstein in Hebrew, Friday evening.

• A panel, including authors Paul Berman and Alina Bronsky, will discuss the intersection of free art in Europe and Islamist censorship, Sunday afternoon.

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.