For what began as a strictly nonpolitical organization 68 years ago, PEN International has become a highly visible lobbying group. PEN is known for its letter-writing campaigns for imprisoned writers worldwide, but in recent years, it has come under some criticism.
During the 1989 Canadian congress, PEN faced accusations of being a racist organization comprised of upper and middle class Europeans and North Americans. A group called Vision 21 accused PEN of having little or no relevance to writers of colour and of developing nations.
Graeme Gibson, president of Canadian PEN at the time, called Vision 21’s charges untrue, noting that tha Canadian guests represented a cross section of the nations, groups and regions. But only five of the 51 Canadian guests were people of colour or of “ethnic” backgrounds. Three “ethnic” Canadian writers had been approached to serve on the PEN board but they declined because of busy work schedules.
PEN board members Margaret Atwood and John Ralston Saul said that the organizers had worked hard to make the Canadian congress more representative than the PEN congresses of the past.
In the 1986 New York congress, less than 10 per cent of the participants had been women. Atwood vowed that at least 50 per cent of the participants in the Canadian congress would be women. In fact, over half the participants last year were women.
Atwood and Saul also pointed out that Canadian PEN actively recruited and paid the ways for young writers from developing countries. Many of these writers participated in the new panel The Next Generation.
A new addition to the standard fare of PEN congresses, The Next Generation proved to be its most exciting forum including participants such as Arturo Arias who wrote the screenplay for El Norte, Adriana Batista, a Mexican feminist who publishes adult comic books, Maoiri novelist Roma Potiki and Inuit short-story writer Alootook Ipellie.
The writers in The Next Generation attacked issues that weren’t discussed in the majority of the other panels, dealing with the politics of literature and publication, and of the PEN organization itself.
The Next Generation opened critical discussion of PEN which will hopefully be explored in future congresses. Participants at the Montreal centre recommended that it be established as a permanent part of the PEN congresses and that all programs be expanded. They also recommended that PEN reconsider its membership criteria to include countries where publication is nonexistent and that PEN recognize the language rights of indigenous people. In addition, they recommended that future PEN congresses seek the participation of gays, lesbians, natives, people of colour, and women.
