South African PEN

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PEN INTERNATIONAL EVENTS IN LONDON AND BARCELONA

By Adré Marshall

International PEN organised two important events in London and Barcelona in April this year, and I was privileged to be able to attend both. All the meetings were well organised and enthusiastically supported, with the sunny weather in both centres contributing to a celebratory atmosphere.

In London, FREE the Word! A Celebration of World Literature (16-19 April), presented a wide variety of writers and topics. The main stage of Shakespeare's Globe theatre provided an appropriate setting for Tom Stoppard to launch the festival and introduce the writers. Nadine Gordimer and Tariq Ali were joined by Palestinian writer Samir El-youssef and Tahmima Anam from Bangladesh, winner of the 20008 Commonwealth Prize for the Best First Book (A Golden Age). This award was announced at the Franschhoek Literary Festival last year. The topic, "Beyond Faith and Reason", raised interesting and controversial perspectives on clashes of culture.

In "Telling Secret Lives", Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Teheran, Lee Stringer, who writes about his traumatic childhood and years as a homeless cocaine addict in New York, and Wen Huang, translator of novels from Chinese into English, each provided illuminating insight into aspects of their life and work. By way of contrast, the cabaret at the Southwark Playhouse on Friday night gave writers the opportunity to indulge in hilarious satire and ingenious word-play.

Presenting Saturday`s topic," Hell on Earth", we heard Lydia Cacho of Mexico, Christian Jungersen (Denmark) and Carolin Emke, an editor and war correspondent for Der Spiegel. Lydia Cacho (Demons of Eden) gave a measured but harrowing account of the persecution and torture she was subjected to following her exposure of high profile Mexican politicians involved in child pornography and prostitution. Hell on Earth was also the appropriate term for the war crimes and human rights violations in various war zones reported by Carolin Emke. Christian Jungersen (The Exception) highlighted the difference between their direct, personal experience of evil in its more blatant manifestations and his own exploration of more insidious forms of evil in the daily round of social relations in a group of women working in the Danish Centre for Information on Genocide. Christian also pointed out that at many International PEN meetings an extra chair is placed on the stage to represent writers who are absent through being imprisoned or detained.

The topic "International Futures" featured inter alia Zimbabwean (and SA PEN member) Petina Gappah, runner-up in the 2007 HSBC/SA PEN Literary Award, and Bertrand Besigye, a poet whose family escaped Idi Amin's regime in Uganda and took refuge in Norway.

At the literary lunch at the Young Vic on Sunday, writers were invited to read extracts from their works in an informal setting. This was followed by a rehearsed reading of The President's Tobacco, a play in progress by the Malawian Jack Mapanje. Jack was imprisoned for 3 years after his first poetry collection was banned. He was released after an international outcry and protest headed by International PEN.

The closing event, "Heavenly Pleasures", featured the French writers Catherine Millet and Florian Zeller (The Fascination of Evil), together with Leila Aboulela, who was born and grew up in Khartoum, Sudan. Catherine Millet`s graphic depiction of all imaginable (and frequently unimaginable) sexual encounters in her notorious best-selling memoir, The Sexual Life of Catherine M, provides a strong contrast with the more subtle and restrained depiction of love (between two people of different faiths) in Leila Aboulela's The Translator. Fortunately the extracts selected were from Millet's more recent work.

The Pen International literary festival in London was followed by the Annual Conference of the Translations and Linguistic Rights Committee, hosted by PEN Catalan in Barcelona (21- 23 April). This coincided with the 4th General Assembly of the International Cities of Refugees Network (ICORN), and many of the functions were attended by both groups, thus providing opportunities for an interesting interchange of views. Refugee writers from countries such Iran, Sudan and Zimbabwe were witness to the important role played by PEN International in assisting dissident writers to evade persecution and imprisonment for their outspoken views on abuses of human rights in their respective countries.

The programme of events for the combined meetings of the TLRC and ICORN was exceptionally well organised. Speakers included the Zimbabwean writer Chenjerai Hove on "The Power of Writing", Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott ("The Spectre of Empire"), and the Bulgarian-German writer Ilija Trojanow on "The Forgotten Fruits of Migration". Formal receptions were held in a variety of impressive historical buildings such as the Palau Marc (Official Opening by the Honourable Councillor of Culture), the Renaissance Palau de la Generalitat (seat of the government of Catalonia) and the resplendent council chamber of the14th century city hall (Casa de la Ciutat).

The TLRC meetings were chaired by Josep-Maria Terricabras, the new chairman and president of PEN Catalan. Delegates from about a dozen different countries were scheduled to attend but a few, including the representative from Ghana, were absent. So there was unfortunately only one delegate from Africa.

Discussions were conducted in both French and English. Each delegate presented a short report-back on the state of translation and linguistic rights in their own countries. Terricabras commented that as so little was known about conditions in South Africa more time should also allowed for questions on various aspects of the situation in this country.

The delegates seemed interested in our eleven official languages and the fact that our constitution, generally regarded as one of the best in the world as far as human rights are concerned, guarantees protection of the linguistic rights of each community. Theoretically, therefore, there should be no problems, but difficulties (financial and other) arise concerning practical implementation. Various projects have been introduced to stimulate the publishing of material in eight of the eleven official languages (isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, and Xitsonga). Related questions included issues such as the extent to which the works of South African writers were translated into other languages (both here and abroad).

The position of Afrikaans writers - and indeed the survival possibilities of Afrikaans as a minority language - was of special concern at the conference, especially for the representative of Esperanto, who pointed out that Afrikaans and Esperanto are the two newest languages in the world. There was general agreement on the importance of preserving all minority languages.

Other topics discussed at the meeting of the TLRC included questions concerning mother tongue education and dual medium tuition. The need to improve the availability and competence of translators was stressed, with emphasis on "What initiatives can be taken by each PEN centre to promote quality translations?"

Further points raised included ways of improving coordination between all the TLRC committees of PEN on an ongoing basis so that contact was not restricted to only one annual meeting. The problem associated with financing the AGM in Barcelona was also mentioned. It was acknowledged that this could be a deterrent for representatives from further afield, such as Africa or South America. Would funding be possible for African delegates, for example, as is the case for "Writers in Prison"? Terricabras suggested that the TLRC needed sponsors, and should explore new strategies. Another proposal was that accommodation be provided in university residences rather than hotels.

J.M. Terricabras also proposed that at the next meeting consideration should be given to a re-appraisal of the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights, a document drawn up in Barcelona in 1996. PEN South Africa president, Anthony Fleischer, a member of the follow-up committee, was instrumental in obtaining the endorsement of this significant document by prominent South Africans such as Nelson Mandela and Bishop Tutu.

J.M. Terricabras proved to be a dynamic and innovative chairman. At the closing session, he introduced "an unorthodox proposal" at variance with the notion of PEN being an association of writers: the possibility of approaching speakers of languages that are not "author-ised', i.e. oral languages, in South America and Africa, for example. Associate membership could be offered to these language groups as the statutes of PEN International would exclude the possibility of full membership. Apparently PEN Malawi and PEN Zambia are already working with oral languages. In South Africa, PEN could perhaps offer associate membership to the SAN institute, for example. This proposal has been put to the San Institute and will be considered at the next meeting of the Executive Committee.

At the conclusion of the TLRC conference, a fascinating bus tour of modernista Barcelona was organised. The closing dinner, attended by both the TLRC and delegates from ICORN, coincided with the Day of the Book, in honour of Sant Jordi's Day. It was held in a splendid modernista restaurant where delegates were treated to Catalan cuisine and regaled with enchanting Catalan songs sung by the famous Catalan singer Marina Rossell. PEN Catalan and the representatives of the city of Barcelona are to be congratulated on the warmth of their hospitality and the efficiency with which all the events were organised.

Frank Geary (president of International PEN), Adré Marshall, Maria Reynaud (Portuguese PEN Centre), Josep Maria Terricabras (Catalan PEN, chairman of the TLRC), Francisco Belard (Portuguese Pen Centre)

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