Bard College's Dinaw Mengestu Elected President of PEN America

Dinaw Mengestu, the director of Bard College's Written Arts Program and the founder and director of the Center for Ethics and Writing, was elected president of PEN America in December 2025. Mengestu talks about free expression, the loss of it in the mid-Hudson Valley, as well as how you can make a difference, on the local level. Here, learn about Mengestu, his goals as PEN America's president and see a list of all the libraries and independent bookstores in Dutchess County. Founded in 1922, PEN America, a non-profit organization aiming to be at the "intersection of literature and human rights to protect expression in the United States and worldwide," according to their website, has a new president with local ties. The new president of PEN America and chair of their Board of Trustees is Dinaw Mengestu, the director of Bard College's Written Arts Program and the founder and director of the Center for Ethics and Writing at the school. He was elected to the position for a two-year term in December 2025, succeeding Jennifer Finney Boylan. Going into his tenth year at Bard College, he joined PEN America as a member of the board in 2016 but has been a part of the organization since 2007. Being at Bard is the longest he's stayed in a position and noted he's found "a sense of real permanence" there. Expanding on his work Mengestu emphasized the work he does for both are "deeply intertwined," and later said the work in Bard's writing programs "aligns" with PEN's core values — uniting writers, being champions of the freedom to write, advocates on free expression challenges and campaigning on policy issues and on behalf of writers, as well as journalists, under threat. "We think a lot about global free expression and how that's under threat in many different areas and in many different ways, both domestically and internationally," Mengestu said. Although free expression on such a large scale can be difficult to conceptualize, but when it gets closer to home, the more "intimate" it begins to feel, he said. The mid-Hudson Valley, an "increasingly diverse" community, according to Mengestu, has already suffered the loss of free expression. "One of the free expression rights that have already completely been lost are within our immigrant community," he said, stressing individuals from those communities "do not have the same right to speak freely." Additionally, on the smaller, regional scale, Mengestu noted the loss of free expression has also manifested itself in the "loss of local media" and what AI could "destroy." These, Mengestu said, are "part of the intent right now" to instill a large-scale sense of both fear and uncertainty — "that uncertainty is a really anxious place to reside in." "In some ways, we don't always know how to express that discomfort," Mengestu said, but there are ways to go about advocating for free expression, even in small ways. According to Mengestu, supporting your local independent bookstores, or any bookstore you can get to, as well as the local library systems, can be a way to celebrate literature, but also support, encourage and bring writers into conversation in your local community. He also suggests becoming a member of PEN America. To find the local libraries in Dutchess County, you can visit dutchessny.gov/Business/Libraries-in-Dutchess-County.htm. To see some local independent bookstores near you, try visiting destinationdutchess.com/listings/bookstores. About Mengestu Originally born in Ethiopia, Mengestu, his father, mother and sister left after the communist revolution began in 1974, settling in 1980 in Victoria, Illinois, as refugees. Since then, he's lived across the globe before making Dutchess his home, and Mengestu knew he wanted to make a living writing. "I started moving around the world, and I just lived in as many places as I could," Mengestu said. He's the author of four novels, including "Someone Like Us," 2024, "All Our Names," 2014, "How To Read the Air," 2010, and "The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears," 2007. Plus, his articles and fiction have appeared in some of the most well-known publications and he's received multiple awards, along with honors. Even so, Mengestu's down-to-earth. Residing in Red Hook, he is a husband of 17 years and a father of two, ages 15 and 16, and nothing is "more important than those two roles," he said. They used to go back and forth from New York City to the mid-Hudson Valley, but since the pandemic, Mongestu and his family have been here full time. At heart, he's a writer and teacher, positions he says are "fundamental" to who he is. Writers, he says, must notice, hear and see the wide-ranging viewpoints of the world and the whole spectrum of ideas, "to try to represent the reality we live in" and uphold that in a principled manner. Mengestu's passion for literature and its effects are evident. He believes reading and writing play a "critical role in creating the kind of culture and community and society we want to live in," and it's why he writes. "When I think of the thing that I really want to uphold and protect most, it's literature," Mengestu said. As PEN America president, Mengestu aims to create a 'powerful collective' Some may think of writers as "solitary figures," Mengestu said, and perhaps aren't a "force to be contended with." He argued, though, when unified, every academic, playwright, journalist, poet and essayist has "an enormous amount of cultural and political power," Mengestu said. As president, it's his goal to "harness" and "activate" this community, to ensure when something happens in the world, someone is there to write about it, but also encourage advocacy for free expression for everyone. "Part of what writers, I think, innately understand, is that if I am not protecting your right, I'm losing mine," Mengestu said. Additionally, as president, another goal is to strengthen the connection with PEN's international chapters. PEN America is the largest of over 100 worldwide centers that form the PEN International network. "There's not really any other organization in the country that does what PEN America does," Mengestu said.