As he takes on the presidency of PEN America, Dinaw Mengestu explains why defending a plurality of voices is essential at a time of censorship and revisionism. He additionally discusses how the organisation is working to rebuild its credibility after criticism over its failure to sentence the struggle in Gaza in 2023. The award-winning creator’s fourth novel, “Somebody Like Us”, has simply been revealed in France, and Mengestu tells us in regards to the private parts he has woven into this story of an Ethiopian-American grappling together with his identification. We additionally focus on the immigrant expertise in the USA and why notions of “us” and “them” stay such divisive forces in public debate.
Novelist Dinaw Mengestu on the battle for freedom of expression
