Disputes are ripping apart the British writers’ association PEN. “In one camp are the ascetics, who believe that PEN’s only purpose is its traditional one of working selflessly and frugally for persecuted writers around the world. In the other are the modernisers – decadents, say their critics – who envisage a rather more glittering future involving celebrities and media events. In both – as you might expect – are some of the most sharp-tongued people in Britain. The reluctance by those involved for the fighting to be made public is, for others, a further reason to be bitter.”