Some 300 writers are expected to turn up at the lakeside resort of Bled in mid-June for the 71st world congress of International PEN, the worldwide literary and human rights association founded in England in 1921.
This year's congress (14 to 21 June) will mark the 40th anniversary of the PEN world congress, organised at Bled in 1965 as the first post-WWII PEN congress in any Communist country.
So far, 250 authors from around the globe entered their names for the congress, Tone Persak, the head of Slovenian PEN Centre, told the press last week, adding that the number of participants was expected to increase to 300.
According to Persak, the Bled congress will as usual elect new bodies and adopt several resolutions. One, addressed to the Slovenian judiciary with regard to the prosecution of two Slovenian authors, will be put forward by Slovenian PEN Centre.
The international Bled meeting traditionally organised in May by the International PEN Peace Committee together with the Association of Slovenian Writers will not be held this year, the committee's chair Veno Taufer said.
Nevertheless, the topics usually debated by the Peace Committee will be discussed as part of one of the round-table debates at the congress. As part of the congress, the Peace Committee will also debate a resolution on Chechnya, sponsored by Russian PEN.
Three round-table debates held as part of the Bled congress will be themed "The Tower of Babel - a Curse or a Blessing", "Literature as Guardian of Cultural Landscape" and "Language of Peace - Literature as a Lingua Franca".
During the congress, several publications will come out. Matjaz Kmecl, for example, is working on a brief cultural history of Slovenians, to be published in two or three languages. Moreover, an anthology of authors representing Slovenian literature will be published in cooperation with the Association of Slovenian Writers (DSP).
Another event announced by Persak last Thursday is the unveiling of a monument to writer Mira Mihelic (1912 - 1985) in the park in front of the DSP headquarters in Ljubljana. The event is to highlight her role as Slovenian PEN Centre chair and vice-chair of International PEN.
Authors participating in the congress will also take part in literary evenings held at Kamnik, Radovljica, Domzale, Trzic and elsewhere.
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