UNITED NATIONS SOCIETY OF WRITERS SPONSORS A POETRY READING ON THE
LAKE
On Saturday 10 March beginning at 11 a.m. and continuing until
well past noon, the United Nations Society of Writers/Société des
Ecrivains des Nations Unies and its literary journal Ex Tempore co-sponsored
a “happening” at the Bains de Paquis, including
the reading of lake poetry by Alphonse de Lamartine, Rainer Maria
Rilke and Hermann Hesse, with translations into English and Russian.
Under a pristine blue sky, balmy winds, and facing the glory of the jet
d’eau rising majestically over the rade,
we listened mesmerized as Antony Hequet declaimed his poem “Je parle le
langage du feu… j’écoute les voix de l’eau”. Antony
, a Geneva poet and artist, old friend of UNSW and member of “Earth
Focus”, an ngo that promotes sustainable development and a
respectful relationship with our environment, including all fauna
and flora, animated the group of young and old enthusiasts of Lac
Leman and of the River Rhone. Already two years ago Antony,
who frequently writes for Ex Tempore (vol. 22, “A quoi
servent les contes, les legends, les myths et la poésie”),
launched a poetic ritual called “flux”, aimed at re-establishing
a relationship with fundamentals, with the sources of life, with
the elements such as fire and water. Antony has performed
this poetic ritual at Ex Tempore salons, and several times on
the Rhone River and at various sites on the shores of Lake Geneva.
It is magic, as anyone who has participated will tell you. Once
again, it gave us all more than just one frisson, a pleasurable shiver,
a tingle in the spine reminiscent of so many early experiences. “Flux” is
intended to lift us out of routines, habits, numbed feelings and
misanthropy. The world is so immensely rich and the spiritual
riches are there for the taking – the joy of just listening
to the surf, the rustling of the trees, the transcendental light
of glaciers. There is so much to be thankful for, and if we
truly believe in human dignity, we must first have a positive attitude
about our environment, about human nature, about the great potential
in all of us, just waiting to be released. Only if we believe in
humanity can we promote human rights. Far from a Manichean
splitting of the world into “good guys” and “bad
guys” and seeking to condemn and punish, human rights means
tolerance, patience, perseverance, faith. Human rights also means
being reconciled with the world, being happy with ourselves and with
our neighbours, seeing ourselves as part of nature, part of the universe,
and not as “owners” of this or of that. Nature
is inexhaustibly inspiring, and we should rejoice, not only belly-ache
about real or imagined problems. Gaudeamus igitur.
We can take pleasure in just breathing fresh air from the lake,
in watching the seagulls fly over our heads, the ducks gliding
on the gentle waves, the swans alighting noisily on the water. The
lake is a symbol of continuity, admired by human eyes for thousands
of years -- Helvetians, Romans, reformers, refugees, statesmen. Julius
Caesar, Jean Calvin, Vladimir Lenin were all here, and they all experienced
the lake – in different ways -- and the fast waters of the
Rhone. Heraclitus knew that everything changes and evolves
-- "No man ever steps in the same river twice" – and
yet, there is this undeniable continuity. If you pick up a
pebble from the lake, just think that a young boy may have had it
in his hand on a summer day fifty years ago, a hundred years ago. As
you climb down the rocks into the water, to immerse yourself in the
waves, imagine how many have done it before you – and how many
will do it after you. If you are into numismatics and hold
a coin from Roman times in your hands, or a coin from the time of
Calvinus, just think that someone once bought himself a glass of
wine with it, just as we would do today. There is a true universality
of spirit that joins all men and women in all regions of the world. We
have so much more in common than differences that set us apart.
Water has inspired countless poets, including Lamartine, who wrote
his wonderful Ode to Lac Le Bourget:
“Ainsi, toujours poussés vers de nouveaux rivages,
Dans la nuit éternelle emportés sans retour.
Ne pourrons-nous jamais sur l’océan des âges
Jeter l’ancre un seul jour? »
It is necessary to pause for a moment, open our eyes and enjoy a
stroll on the Quai Wilson, relate to the alleys of plane trees, the
firs and the lime trees, enjoy discovering a thousand different flowers
at the Botanical garden, marvel at the miracle of a butterfly in
spring, focus on the horizon, on the splendour of the Mont Blanc
and the Aravis, on the sheer beauty of a sunset over the lake.
UN Special readers are invited to write about these and other topics
and to forward your essays, short stories and poems to David Winch,
President UNSW, dwinch@unog.ch, or to Carla Edelenbos, Vice-President cedelenbos@ohchr.org. We
need many new UNOG authors, from ILO, WHO, WIPO, ITU, WTO, etc. There
is so much talent in the house that should not be exclusively devoted
to drafting reports and resolutions.
By the way, Antony intends to repeat these happenings regularly
and the UNSW will inform its members of the dates. Otherwise
it is suggested that interested persons contact Antony directly
at his email address antony.hequet@orange.fr.
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