Pen America

The Abundance Mindset: More is More

In the Fall of 2020, PEN America commissioned various writers to speak directly to voters around the country in advance of the November election. Published in The Guardian and as an audio essay on WYNC, journalist Jean Guerrero penned, “Your Mestizaje is a Superpower,” an exploration of her own Mexican-Puerto Rican-American identity as a synecdoche for the larger question of multiculturalism amid the resurgence of white supremacy (“Multiculturalism is not a threat to civilization. The only thing it threatens is extremism”). Also published in The Guardian and WYNC, Moroccan-American novelist Laila Lalami asked, “Why Vote?” in a piece that urged voters to look beyond the presidential election alone and consider the local measures on their ballots (“The ballot is the only means we have to evaluate the public servants whose salaries we all pay, whether we choose to vote or not”). Disability rights advocate Alice Wong published, “The Political is Personal” where she reflected on thinking beyond people power in terms of voting (“People power is mutual aid, care, safety, and solidarity”). These essays complement and build upon We Will Emerge, a project started in partnership with Dave Eggers and Wajahat Ali