Archive

The blind and the elephant: a conversation with Ahmed Saadawi and Jonathan Wright

We spoke to the author and translator of Frankenstein in Baghdad about the novel’s success, its religious elements and truth in storytelling.

History, earned

'Like the clubs I love, I had been riding waves of my own': a story about baseball, Australian Rules Football and being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, by Kylie Maslen

Hockey is for everyone

'They bury it as deep under the ice as it can go': on belonging to a minority in a sport that hates troublemakers, by Jashvina Shah

Editorial: on sport

Sport is emblematic of what goes on in society as a whole. In this issue of PEN Transmissions, we've looked at it as a method of inclusion - and exclusion. As a method of belonging as well as of extreme alienation.

Power to the powerful

‘Money, power and politics are inherent to sporting events’: in Bahrain, the Formula One has become a site of protest. Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei tells us why.

Mum was an athlete

'When it came to sports, my mum picked up how to do ten things before she was taught a single one': Han Yujoo reports on growing up with an athlete mother, translated by Janet Hong

Someone else’s words in your mouth

Daisy Johnson investigates how our nature is shaped by language.

Nature and control

Jeremy Tiang on how nature - from gardens to sexuality, from supertrees to freedom of speech - is kept in check in Singapore.

Nature bubbling out: a conversation with Mahvash Sabet

We spoke to poet Mahvash Sabet about her connection to nature, writing poetry while in prison, and why, after all, life is beautiful.

Editorial: nature and its absence

What do you think about when you think about nature? Weeds? Mountains? The sea? Do you think about its absence, or perceived absence, in cities? Or do you ponder human nature?

Little voices

Luljeta Lleshanaku remembers how growing up in a small town in Albania shaped her understanding of nature

Editorial: secrets

Secrets and boundaries

When do you know that you've crossed a personal boundary? Jaap Robben, author of You Have Me To Love, a novel about inching closer and closer to the boundary, tries to find out.

How, Telling

Eley Williams wants to tell you a secret.

We grew up fearful and confused

Margarita García Robayo remembers growing up in an environment where sex was ‘a poker game, trading in favours, a secret key that belonged to us girls’.

The teeth in the texts

Each text holds a secret, whether intentional or unintentional. Sarvat Hasin investigates and encounters ghost versions and inspirations that shape a text 'like teeth hidden in a close-mouthed smile'. 

Editorial: writing the past

Against the ignorant sun

Towards complete self acceptance, via suburban Jakarta, Christian saints and a shopping centre’s car park: Norman Erikson Pasaribu writes his personal history.