UTD Professor Elected to PEN Board

Dr. Tim Redman, a professor of literary studies in the School of Arts and Humanities at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), has been elected to the board of directors of the prominent literary association PEN USA.

PEN, which stands for Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists and Novelists, is the world’s oldest international human rights organization . The purpose of PEN is to promote literature and defend freedom of expression. Founded in London in 1921 by Catherine Amy Dawson Scott, its first president was John Galsworthy. Among its early members were Joseph Conrad, George Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells. International PEN presidents have included Alberto Moravia, Heinrich Boll, Arthur Miller and Mario Vargas Llosa.

Dr. Tim Redman, a professor of literary studies in the School of Arts and Humanities, is at work on a biography about Ezra Pound. He is also founder and director of UTD’s world-famous chess program.

PEN USA is one of 141 national PEN Centers in 99 different nations (the United States has two national centers). It is headquartered in Los Angeles.

The author of Ezra Pound and Italian Fascism (Cambridge University Press, 1991), Redman is at work on a biography about Pound. He is the founder and director of UTD’s world-famous chess program. An occasional book reviewer for The Dallas Morning News, Redman currently is president of PEN Texas, the association’s state chapter.

Redman received a lifetime achievement award from PEN Texas in 2001 for his involvement with the Lone Star Writing Contest, his commitment to the Freedom-to-Write Committee, his biographical work about Pound and his involvement with chess as an educational tool.