By By Shahab Ansari
THE ex-president of the Swedish Writers’ Union (1987-95) and internationally renowned poet, Peter Curman, has urged the nations to keep their identity and integrity intact in the wake of the prevailing terrorism in the world and put together efforts to end the conflicts which have compromised human growth, prosperity and peace.
He was addressing Pakistani intellectuals, poets, artists, writers and journalists at a luncheon hosted by the chairman of Pakistan Academy of Letters and World Punjabi Congress, Fakhar Zaman, at his residence in Garden Town here on Monday.
Mr Curman said that the role of writers and intellectuals had not been the same as it had been in the last three decades against aggression, tyranny and injustice. However, he said, the role of Swedish writers and intellectuals had been very positive regarding conflicts in the world, including the US operations in Vietnam, Iraq, and in Afghanistan as they advocated peace and productive measures to end poverty, ignorance and illiteracy. He said a meeting of Indian, Arab and European writers should be held to discuss the international conflicts and added that there was a need to form working groups to resolve conflicts.
Talking about the reaction of the Swedish writers against various conflicts in the world, Mr Curman referred to his a poem “The Birds.” He also read out the poem for the audience at the venue from the collection titled “The Charioteer in Delphi.” He said Sweden should not be a part of any military action.
Peter Curman said he was very happy to be in Pakistan and he received a very warm welcome and added that he could not get the same kind of response anywhere else in the world. Paying tributes to the late Benazir Bhutto, he said “She was a bright light in the political night.”
The Swedish poet said his poems could help people endure life’s paradoxes more easily and to make them see themselves in a more forgiving light. He said “We are not alone in our longing and agony as we live in different bodies but in the same life.”
The recipient of the Quaid-e-Azam Award for Literature paid tributes to Fakhar Zaman, the chairman of the Pakistan Academy of Letters, for his role during the world conference Hasselby Castle, outside Stockholm, Sweden, in 1999.