How three top novelists are creating and finding joy through literature in times of crisis
“Authoritarianism can’t destroy storytelling and imagination.” ~Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
“Literature provides a respite.” ~Jennifer Egan
“Women are the greatest international power there is.” ~Burhan Sönmez
I consider myself incredibly lucky that I was able to attend “The PEN and the State: The Role of Novelists in Times of Crisis” — the opening night event for the 2025 PEN America World Voices Festival. In its 20th year, the festival celebrates international literature and writers. The event featured three of my favorite authors — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Dream Count) from Nigeria who now resides most of the time in the U.S., Jennifer Egan (The Candy House) from the U.S. who is also a professor at University of Pennsylvania (my alma mater), and Burhan Sönmez (Lovers of Franz K.), a Kurdish author from Turkey who is also the President of PEN International and a Fellow at University of Cambridge (also my alma mater). The event was expertly moderated by Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, PEN America interim Co-CEO and Chief Program Officer of Literary Programming.
While the event immediately acknowledged the difficult times we’re living in with words and language under attack, these authors refused to let that distract them from their critical work as novelists. They are moving forward. “As writers, we carry the responsibility for humanity,” said Burhan. “Every novelist creates a [new] language in their book.” Chimamanda agrees. “I will never give in to despair and self-censorship, and I will bear the consequences. The job of literature is not to be safe.” In response to an audience question, Jennifer reflected on what we, as writers and neighbors, can do now. “Keep literary culture strong. We need to stop scrolling and start reading, deeply. [As writers,] our voices are our livelihood. We have to be willing to listen to others and to speak out.”
In line with the title of the event, the authors reflected on the specific role of writers in these times as history is unfolding before our eyes. Burhan mentioned when horrific acts have occurred in earlier times, the news was delayed and could be obscured. With today’s technology, we bear witness to events happening across the world in real-time. He told a story about the relationship between Turkey and the U.S. “In the Mid 20th century, Turkey’s right wing had a slogan, “Make Turkey little America.” Now America is becoming a bigger Turkey.” He’s not wrong.
His perspective of time and living through societal difficulties was fascinating. He is a Kurdish writer raised in Turkey who then lived in exile after sustaining severe physical injuries was fascinating and also heartbreaking. In his childhood home in Turkey, they spoke Kurdish, but Turkey had outlawed that language for 100 years.
Chimamanda’s perspective of as a woman raised under two dictatorships in Nigeria also provided a nuanced view of U.S. politics. She is somewhat of an outsider as a legal U.S. resident with Nigerian heritage who grew up immersed in both countries’ cultures. She is attracted the personal stories shaped by politics. “I’m interested in politics as a human thing. Fiction is not a history book or instruction manual. It reminds us we’re all human. As writers, we want to write something beautiful. Our only responsibility as writers is to write what we want to write and make it beautiful.” She acknowledged that she wants the reader to have fun while reading her books and they often hold humor even while exploring dark subjects. “I’m drawn to novels where I learn while having fun,” she said. As a speaker, I found her to be incredibly funny!
Jennifer shares this view of literature with Chimamanda. She recounted her surprise when her literature students at Penn didn’t want to talk about politics at because reading and writing fiction gave them a break, an escape, from their lived experience. This resonated with her as a writer as well. “I want the reader to have fun reading my books. When that’s my focus as a writer, and if I keep that focus then the things I care about find their way into the story.”
She shared some background of what brought her to writing. “For me, it is a vocation though not the one I always wanted to pursue. Growing up, I wanted to be a surgeon and then an archaeologist. I wanted to look inside. Inside people and inside the Earth.” Then in college, she took off on a backpacking trip across the globe, and that’s how writing found her. “Writing made every experience I had complete. It gave it meaning. It became and is a spiritual practice for me.” Being a fiction writer has the same end goal as the goal of a surgeon and an archaeologist. “Fiction is the only art form that lets you be inside the minds of others. When you look at a picture, you are naturally on the outside looking in. As a reader, you are inside the minds of the characters.”
Burhan didn’t read a book in Kurdish until he was 35 years old and living in exile. He made the decision to write his most recent novel in Kurdish in honor of his ancestors, especially his mother. However, Kurdish was a language he only knew spoken so he had to study Kurdish grammar to write the book. “When I got injured, my health was very poor for a long time. I went through treatment for 8 years. I couldn’t read for 2 years. All I could do was watch TV and makes notes with pen and paper. That’s how I came to be a writer, through my injuries.”
Chimamanda echoed Burhan’s pull to writing from her own history. “My ancestors gave me the blessing of writing, telling stories, being curious, and not minding my business. I did not come to writing through reading as many people do. Writing came first for me. My love for beauty, for meaning, and the human connection brought me to writing fiction.”
These authors also framed the specific value of fiction in crisis as opposed to journalism and nonfiction (which they have also written.) “In nonfiction writing, there is a certain level of self-preservation,” said Chimamanda. “In fiction, you are free. There is an openness that doesn’t exist in nonfiction. A radical honesty that nonfiction doesn’t have. With fiction, you can say what has not been said because it’s not you [saying it]. It’s the character.”
Burhan quoted author Gabriel García Márquez and the Turkish concept of “Panjeta” meaning the 5th way. (My apologies if I misspelled that word — I couldn’t find it anywhere online!) “With a novel, we open a new window, a new way of seeing,” he said. “Gabriel García Márquez said, ‘Literature never enters the house of truth through the front door.’ As novelists, we use the backdoor to illuminate the truth.”
The evening concluded with one final question from the audience: How do we take risks right now and not self-destruct? The audience collectively held its breath.
These author did not flinch, nor hesitate. “Being afraid is human,” said Chimananda. “I’m afraid but I will still speak…If you are afraid, learn civics. Even if you think you know civics, study it. I have lots of friends who think they know civics and they are still asking, ‘Can he do that? Is that legal?’ Study and stay informed.” Jennifer nodded in agreement. “This is a moment to support every cause you care about in any way you can…Insist upon the importance of literature and those who embrace it in the face of everything that’s happening.”
The PEN America World Voices Festival continues through Saturday, May 3rd: https://worldvoices.pen.org/