CARL ROLLYSON WRITES: I am working on a biography of Susan Sontag for W. W. Norton. Last October, I called PEN American Center to request board minutes for 1987–1989 when she was president. I was told they would get back to me. I called a week later and was informed that PEN’s attorneys had advised that my request be denied because, while I am now a PEN member, I had not been during Sontag’s presidency. I replied that such reasoning seems disingenuous for an organization created to promote openness, freedom of expression, and understanding among writers.

In early November, I wrote to Karen Kennerly, PEN’s executive director, and got no answer until January 3, when she wrote (replying to my second letter of December 16) that I would have my answer when the new board met later in January. Hearing nothing, I wrote again on February 24, pointing out that it had been easier for me to obtain Lillian Hellman ...

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