Author Spotlight: Jennifer Clement

With language as fierce as it is tender, Jennifer Clement writes haunting and lyrical narratives that give voice to the silent. As the first woman to serve as President of PEN International, she is a leading voice in freedom of expression. Her novels, including Prayers for the Stolen, are critically acclaimed and inspire change.

What is your inspiration for writing?

I find that I am always writing about things that really move me and won’t let me go. For example, human trafficking - the little girls being stolen in Guerrero - was about seven years of research. 

How do you remember all the places and names in your writing?

I had incredible good fortune. In Mexico back in the days, the postman would come to the house twice a day, It was very expensive to call the United States so my mother would write at least two letters a day to her mother in the US, and my grandmother kept all the letters. It was just the greatest treasure to find these stories that I love and want to reproduce. My mother was involved in guerrilla warfare against the Catholic Church, and my father was very politically active. All of this was in the letters and I was able to use them.

Why is PEN so important to you?

I have always been involved with PEN. If we don’t have freedom of expression, we won’t know truth. It is profound to be a part of PEN because I am constantly witnessing people who risk everything, even their lives, to tell the truth. This is always so humbling.

What is your favorite book that you have written?

Probably Gun Love.