Podcast Summary: All Of It | New PEN America Head Dinaw Mengestu

Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Guest: Dinaw Mengestu (President, PEN America, novelist)
Date: December 29, 2025
Episode Theme:
A deep-dive conversation with Dinaw Mengestu, newly elected president of PEN America, about the organization's evolving role in defending free expression, recent controversies, challenges facing writers, and Mengestu’s vision for the future.

Episode Overview

Alison Stewart interviews Dinaw Mengestu as he assumes the presidency of PEN America amidst a period of upheaval and intense debate about free speech, book bans, and advocacy—both in the US and worldwide. Mengestu reflects on PEN America’s mission, recent controversies around censorship and advocacy, and how his personal and professional journey intersects with his new role. The discussion touches on current threats to free expression, the importance of criticism and accountability, and the enduring necessity of literary community and service.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Role of PEN America's President

• Visibility and Advocacy: Mengestu sees his main job as being the "most outward facing advocate" for the organization, promoting its mission and values to the public.
• Writer-Led Leadership: Stresses the organization's intentional choice to always have a writer as president, ensuring close ties between free expression advocacy and the literary community.
• Ethical Framework: "Writers... help give an ethical framework to the work that we do." (Mengestu, 01:47)
• Representation: The president’s responsibility is to reflect and echo the concerns of writers both within the organization and in the broader public sphere.

Behind the Scenes at PEN America

• Multi-faceted Work: Many only know about PEN's defense of imprisoned writers, but Mengestu emphasizes that the work is broader—addressing subtle threats to expression, such as the closure of local news outlets or suppression on campuses.
  • Quote: "Book bans... are a very obvious form of government repression, but... losing newspapers... you are losing accountability to your own body politics." (Mengestu, 03:31)
• Collaboration: Their advocacy depends on teamwork with PEN International and other organizations, involving in-depth research into local and global political contexts before acting on individual cases.

Changing Perceptions of PEN

• From Elite to Essential: Mengestu once saw PEN as an "elite club," but his view shifted after joining the board and working with staff on global advocacy. The organization's inner workings are highly collaborative and focused on complex, real-world problems.
• "You have to almost get inside of the organization and you realize there's a whole kind of incredible network of people working together to promote our work." (Mengestu, 05:14)

Motivation for Leadership

• Sense of Debt and Service: His motivation to lead comes from gratitude for what books and the literary community have given him:
  • "My life is very much a product of having been kind of gifted and surrounded by books my whole life... this feels like a kind of way to pay that back." (Mengestu, 06:08)
• Community of Literary Service: Rejects the stereotype of writers as isolated; highlights the many ways writers actively defend free expression and engage in advocacy.

The Current Crisis in Free Expression

• Unprecedented Censorship:
  • Highlights the rise in government-led censorship, book bans, and the chilling effect on marginalized communities, immigrants, and advocacy for issues like trans rights and Palestinian lives.
  • Quote: "We've never had this kind of government censorship in our recent history, and it's hard to even sort of catalog all the ways in which it has already altered and changed the way we communicate." (Mengestu, 07:38)
  • Notable concern: For many, "the silencing has already happened." (Mengestu, 08:28)
• Lasting Damage: Mengestu warns of the long-term harm if communities lose their voice and aren’t empowered to reclaim it.

Activism and Identity

• Writer, Not Activist:
  • “…I always think of myself as a writer who's deeply engaged... you want to see [the world] in all of its strange complexity...”
  • Argues that literature’s drive to see “all parts of our society” aligns closely with free expression advocacy (09:33-10:32).

International Responsibilities

• Global Partnerships & Ethics:
  • PEN America collaborates with PEN International and other chapters to support writers worldwide.
  • Acknowledges the influence of US foreign policy and the ethical imperative to act responsibly and not project hypocrisy:
    • “…it’s a challenge... to make sure that we’re not just... pointing fingers at other countries, but that we are acting ethically and responsibly.” (Mengestu, 11:13)

Accountability & Criticism

• Welcoming Critique:
  • Strong belief that criticism from members and writers is essential and should always be viewed as a necessary check:
    • “…those challenges and those critiques are not only another form of free expression... but they are also the ways in which I think we hold ourselves accountable…” (Mengestu, 12:20)
  • Calls criticism “an expression of... fundamental concern for the world and a desire for us to do something to make it better.” (Mengestu, 12:45)

Personal Journey & Future Plans

• Continued Teaching:
  • Mengestu remains a professor at Bard College and sees this role as intertwined with his advocacy work.
  • Project Spotlight: Bard and PEN America collaborate to create a global platform archiving independent news from countries under totalitarian regimes (13:33-14:08).
• Returning to Writing:
  • The literary community inspires him to continue writing novels:
    • “When you’re surrounded by other writers... nothing makes you want to do more than write.” (Mengestu, 14:14)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Importance of Writer Leadership:
  • “I think as the board president, part of my responsibility... is to hopefully reflect and kind of, you know, echo what I hear is happening inside of the literary community.” (01:53)
• On Government Censorship:
  • “For a large segment of our communities, the silencing has already happened. And how do we get that voice back?” (08:28)
• On Criticism:
  • “That actual challenge, I think, is always given and sort of delivered with... the most important intent. ...Are we treating everybody equally and are we doing the best that we can to protect other people's rights?” (12:59)
• On Literature and Activism:
  • “As a writer, you really see and engage with all parts of society; that leads directly into the work I do at PEN America.” (10:25)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction and Mengestu’s Appointment: 00:09 – 01:33
• Role of the President & Organizational Ethics: 01:40 – 02:57
• Inside PEN America—Breadth of Work: 03:07 – 04:27
• Changing Perceptions & the Human Rights Network: 04:41 – 05:54
• Why Lead PEN? 06:03 – 07:21
• Most Urgent Issues—Censorship & Silencing: 07:35 – 09:10
• Identity: Activist or Writer? 09:25 – 10:34
• International Work and Ethics: 10:40 – 11:40
• Handling Criticism: 11:52 – 13:23
• Ongoing Academic Work & PEN Partnership with Bard: 13:30 – 14:08
• Personal Motivation to Write: 14:12 – 14:59
• Closing Remarks: 15:04

Episode Tone

• Thoughtful, reflective, and purpose-driven.
• Focus is on transparency, embracing complexity, the importance of community, and the enduring essential nature of both advocacy and literature.

This episode offers a sustained look at PEN America's values, its current crossroads, and the personal philosophy of its new leader—making it essential listening for anyone interested in the future of literary culture, free speech, and the very meaning of advocacy in turbulent times.