Le bicorne et la plume

Abstract

Diplomats normally write a lot. It is part of their trade. But do they publish? They certainly do since there are at least six Nobel Literature prize winners among them (St John Perse, Pablo Neruda, George Séféris, Ivo Andrić, Czesław Miłosz, Octavio Paz) and maybe more.

In Switzerland however (as in a few other countries) strict administrative regulations often limit this activity. Nevertheless, Jacques Rial, a retired Swiss diplomat, has looked into the catalogues of the main Swiss libraries and has made some surprising discoveries.