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c u l t u r e

30 Years United Nations Society of Writers
Societe

des ecrivains

des nations unies

Tempus fugit! Can it be thirty attract bold, spontaneous,
years already since that uncomplicated, crisp new
felicitous summer afternoon texts that would address
when we were sitting in the our innermost feelings,
Press Bar near door 6 at aspirations, fantasies
the old Palais des Nations, – whether humorous,
chatting about contemporary melancholic, nostalgic or
literature? lovesick. A name for the
review soon popped up in
There we were, on 14 August 1989 -- a young, dynamic my mind: Ex Tempore – impromptu, improvised… We were
Brazilian UN staffer, Leonor Sampaio, a well-seasoned UN ready to venture into the production of literature and were
translator from Argentina, Sergio Chaves, and myself, an optimistic about the response by peers and outside critics.
eager-beaver American lawyer with the then Centre for
Human Rights (soon to be renamed Office of the High Both Sergio and I were already members of PEN
Commissioner for Human Rights), sharing impressions on International, Centre Suisse romand and had many non-UN
Isabel Allende, Margaret Atwood, Jorge Luis Borges, Paulo friends who wrote extremely well. We also knew that the then
Coelho, Friedrich Durrenmatt, Gabriel García Márquez, Director General of the United Nations Office in Geneva, Jan
Nadine Gordimer, Philippe Jaccottet, Doris Lessing -- while Martenson, was member of Swedish PEN and author of some
leisurely sipping on espressos and cappuccinos…. 30 novels – most of them police thrillers. We felt confirmed
in our project.
Half-way through our animated chat, Leonor proposed
launching a literary club at the UN, Sergio seconded the The first problem was, of course, how to finance it? We knew
initiative, and I suggested publishing our own literary journal. that initially we would have to do it out of our own pockets
We were excited about this incipient United Nations Society of and were confident that with time we would find sponsors and
Writers, Société des écrivains des Nations Unies, which would subsidies. This aspect of the adventure proved particularly
tap the hidden literary talent of so many UN staffers – not arduous, and it was not until 1993 that we managed to obtain
just at UNOG, but at ILO, WHO, WIPO, even WTO! Who a modest subsidy through the Socio-Cultural Commission of
knows? Maybe some kept love poems and stimulating essays the Coordinating Council of the UN staff.
somewhere hidden in their office drawers, just waiting to let
them out. Would our colleagues not welcome the opportunity Volume one was typed on A4 paper using regular
of liberating themselves from the constraints of UN jargon, of typewriters (not computers) and assembled quite simply,
resolutions with long preambular paragraphs and reports full photocopied and then bound in a Migros-folder, just like
of graphics and heavy with annexes? We were persuaded that the ones that students use to submit their term papers.
many of us could produce respectable poetry, short stories, Volume one came out in October and comprised a mere
essays, science-fiction, even plays in all six UN languages– 23 pages. The A4 format (somewhat smaller than the folio
not in bureaucratic legalese, but in the style of our favourite format of Guttenberg’s Bible) was kept for four more issues,
contemporary authors. until we chose the A5 format for volume 6 (reminiscent of
the popular Renaissance quarto format, although it actually
Happy with the prospect of cultivating our own garden and resembles more the octavo format) and all subsequent
plucking the flowers of multicultural imagination, we knew volumes. The number of pages quickly rose from 23 to 60
we needed a catchy name – not a boring or hackneyed “UN to 100 to the now more common 160 pages, and 180 for the
literary review” or a pretentious Pléiade … We wanted to 2019 thirtieth anniversary issue.

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