History of PEN

International PEN, the world's largest literary organization, was conceived nearly 80 years ago by poet Katherine Dawson Scott in the belief that unrestricted exchange of published works between nations, free from censorship, could put an end to war. The organization has grown to encompass 126 centers and chapters around the world, with more than 15,000 members.

Ms. Scott launched the organization in London in 1921 with the help of John Galsworthy. Charter members included Joseph Conrad, G. K. Chesterton, D. H. Lawrence, and George Bernard Shaw. PEN stands for Poets (and Playwrights), Editors (and Essayists), and Novelists, who composed the group's original members. Today members are drawn from a wide variety of literary fields and interests, ranging from literary translators to screenwriters.

The first PEN Center in the United States was founded in New York in 1922, with Booth Tarkington as its president. Two years later one member of their original Board of Directors, bestselling novelist Mary Austin, moved to Santa Fe in search of a more tolerant, multicultural literary climate. She stayed here to become one of the founders of New Mexico's world-renowned writers' community.

PEN Center USA West was founded in Los Angeles in 1952, in the wake of hearings by the House Un-American Activities Committee, which resulted in widespread blacklisting of Hollywood screenwriters and the destruction of many careers. Independent of PEN Center USA (New York), the L.A. center has more than 1,000 members, including chapters in Oakland and Orange County, California; Texas; Colorado; and New Mexico.

PEN New Mexico was founded in 1992 by novelist Rudolfo Anaya, whose book Bless Me Ultima has been banned in many school districts and become required reading in many others, together with poet and publisher Victor di Suvero. Our chapter has grown to more than 200 members spread across New Mexico, as well as southern Colorado, Arizona, and west Texas.