UN Special N° 680 Janvier · January • UN / ONU

UN SOCIETY OF WRITERS WELCOMES 2009

ALFRED DE ZAYAS

In 2009 the United Nations Society of Writers (UNSW, or Société des écrivains des Nations Unies, SENU) will celebrate twenty years of demonstrating that there is plenty of literary talent in the house. Yearly salons with poetry readings in all UN official languages (and in several non-official, including German, Italian, Japanese and Vietnamese), combined music and poetry events, guest readings by UN New York and Vienna colleagues, multimedia events and regular publications have characterized the club’s activities.

UNSW/SENU was launched on 14 August 1989 by Sergio Chaves (Argentina), Leonor Sampaio (Brazil) and Alfred de Zayas (USA). Over a capuccino at the Bar-Presse of the Palais des Nations, it was suggested giving the name Ex Tempore to the proposed journal, since staff contributions were to be crisp, uncomplicated, impromptu, and as far removed as possible from the UN jargon of resolutions and reports.

We wanted to prove that we could write not just bureaucratic, pseudo-intellectual stuff, but valid, enjoyable, enthusiastic, entertaining, melancholic or soul-searching stories – the stuff of literature. The most boring part of our adventure was drafting and amending the statutes and getting our own serial number (ISSN 1020-6604).

On Friday, 23 January, the next Ex Tempore Evening will be held. As in previous years, colleagues will gather for an informal literary and musical event, to which all interested UN staff (not just UNSW/SENU members) are invited. It will take place at the home of Alfred de Zayas, President of P.E.N. Inter- national, Centre Suisse romand, 23 Crêts de Pregny, Grand Saconnex (tel. +41 22 788 2231), a yellow villa next to the John Knox Centre. (There is a large parking lot used by visitors with the gracious approval of JKC.) The event starts from 7.30 p.m. and ends usually around midnight. The salon of sixtyfour square metres comfortably accommodates seventy people, and usually around sixty persons show up, depending on the weather. The record of eighty-seven participants in 2005 should not be broken!

At the UNSW/SENU general assembly, held on 17 June 2008 at the Palais des Nations, the Board was confirmed: President, Karin Kaminker; Vice-President, Carla Edelenbos; Secretary, Rose Buisson-Sauvage; Treasurer, Janet Weiler; Editor-in-chief, Alfred de Zayas. In November 2008, David Winch became President ad interim. UNSW/SENU entertains synergies with other literary clubs, including P.E.N. international and the Société genevoise des écrivains.

The Board of Ex Tempore is pleased to report that copies of volume XVIII are still available, and that volume XIX is complete and will be issued shortly. For the journal’s anniversary volume, no. XX, the Editorial Board invites literary efforts of general interest, short stories, science fiction, humour, poems or aphorisms in any of the UN official languages, or in other languages, together with a translation. Please send these to Alfred de Zayas electronically: zayas@bluewin.ch, David Winch dwinch@unog.ch, or Carla Edelenbos cedelenbos@ohchr.org.

Membership is open to active and retired staff of the United Nations, specialized agencies, CERN, Permanent Missions and Observer Missions, and the UN-accredited press corps. We invite you to subscribe to Ex Tempore and support the Society of Writers of the UN Staff Socio-Cultural Commission. The membership fee is 35 fr. per year. Please send your generous donations directly to Ex Tempore’s account with the Union de Banque Suisse (UBS), branch office at the Palais des Nations,
Geneva, account No. 279-CA 100.855.0.