Poet-diplomats are poets who have also served their countries as

diplomats A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internatio ...

. The best known poet-diplomats are perhaps Geoffrey Chaucer and Thomas Wyatt; the category also includes recipients of the Nobel Prize in Literature:

Ivo Andrić Ivo Andrić ( sr-Cyrl, Иво Андрић, ; born Ivan Andrić; 9 October 1892 – 13 March 1975) was a Yugoslav novelist, poet and short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961. His writings dealt mainly with life in ...

Gabriela Mistral Lucila Godoy Alcayaga (; 7 April 1889 – 10 January 1957), known by her pseudonym Gabriela Mistral (), was a Chilean poet-diplomat, educator and humanist. In 1945 she became the first Latin American author to receive a Nobel Prize in Li ...

Saint-John Perse Alexis Leger (; 31 May 1887 – 20 September 1975), better known by his pseudonym Saint-John Perse (; also Saint-Leger Leger), was a French poet-diplomat, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1960 "for the soaring flight and evocative ...

Miguel Ángel Asturias Miguel Ángel Asturias Rosales (; October 19, 1899 – June 9, 1974) was a Nobel Prize-winning Guatemalan poet-diplomat, novelist, playwright and journalist. Asturias helped establish Latin American literature's contribution to mainstream W ...

, Pablo Neruda, George Seferis,

Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz (, also , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. Regarded as one of the great poets of the 20th century, he won the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature. In its citation, ...

and

Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and ...

. Contemporary poet-diplomats include

Abhay K Abhay Kumar en Name Abhay K.(born 1980) is an Indian poet-diplomat and currently serves as the Deputy Director General of Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi. He served as India's 21st Ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros fr ...

, Indran Amirthanayagam,

Kofi Awoonor Kofi Awoonor (born George Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor-Williams; 13 March 1935 – 21 September 2013) was a Ghanaian poet and author whose work combined the poetic traditions of his native Ewe people and contemporary and religious symbolism to depict A ...

, Philip McDonagh and Yiorgos Chouliaras.

Overview

Abhay Kumar wrote, "There seems to be a connection between poetry and diplomacy as several diplomats over the ages have excelled in poetry". He further adds, "Diplomacy is a complex art that involves the mixing of political acumen, cultural finesse, language abilities and conversation skills to wield the power of persuasion. Diplomacy is generally conducted in short sentences which reveal as much as much 'sic''.html" ;"title="sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''they hide. Poetry is no different". He adds that poetry and diplomacy share a few attributes such as ambiguity and brevity in expressions, a detached handling of the subject matter among others. Aldo Matteucci wrote, "Many diplomats have used poetry in their diplomatic work: wrapping words in silk is the diplomat’s job. A diplomat may turn a lie into a ‘constructive ambiguity’ – which is a way of defining poetry. Some poets have been diplomats – Neruda, Claudel, St. John Perse. It’s an occupational hazard: the stimulating place, the sheltered existence – and the ability to paraphrase the unknowable. Few diplomats will admit to using poetry as a survival strategy". Kamel S. Abu Jaber wrote,"The language of diplomacy, often like poetry, has the ability to move people from mood to mood". Stefano Baldi and Pasquale Baldocci wrote in their book ''Through the Diplomatic Looking Glass'',"The publication of poetry by diplomats seems more inspired by an inner need to express oneself freely than the wish to share sensations and feelings developed during the career. Only verses with their detachment from reality can present an escape from cold and bureaucratic style often imposed by the profession". Brazil bestowed the rank of Ambassador posthumously to its poet-diplomat

Vinicius de Moraes Marcus Vinícius da Cruz e Mello Moraes (19 October 1913 – 9 July 1980), better known as Vinícius de Moraes () and nicknamed O Poetinha ("The little poet"), was a Brazilian poet, diplomat, lyricist, essayist, musician, singer, and playwright ...

recognizing his poetic talent. Russian diplomats have a curious obsession with poetry. “Poets and diplomats use the same building blocks: the idea and the word,” said Vladimir Kazimirov. “Poetry and diplomacy both rely on the alchemy of paradox. We mix fear and hope, power and weakness, love and hate to find a way out of the impossible,” said

Dominique de Villepin Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (; born 14 November 1953) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007 under President Jacques Chirac. In his career working at the Ministry ...

, French Foreign Minister and a published poet in July 2002.Diplomacy — The Art of the Impossible?
The Globalist, 31 December 2012

Notable poet-diplomats

José Asunción Silva José Asunción Silva (27 November 1865 in Bogotá – 23 May 1896 in Bogotá) was a Colombian poet. He is considered one of the founders of Latin American Modernismo. Life Born to a wealthy and educated Bogotá family, Asunción Silva led ...

Rubén Darío Félix Rubén García Sarmiento (January 18, 1867 – February 6, 1916), known as Rubén Darío ( , ), was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-language literary movement known as ''modernismo'' (modernism) that flourished at the end of ...

Abe no Nakamaro , whose Chinese name was Chao Heng (, pronounced ''Chōkō'' in Japanese), was a Japanese scholar and '' waka'' poet of the Nara period. He served on a Japanese envoy to Tang China and later became the Tang '' duhu'' (protectorate governor) o ...

* Giovanni Boccaccio * Thomas Wyatt * Diego Hurtado de Mendoza *

Constantijn Huygens Sir Constantijn Huygens, Lord of Zuilichem ( , , ; 4 September 159628 March 1687), was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was also secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist Ch ...

Matthew Prior Matthew Prior (21 July 1664 – 18 September 1721) was an English poet and diplomat. He is also known as a contributor to ''The Examiner (1710–1714), The Examiner''. Early life Prior was probably born in Middlesex. He was the son of a Noncon ...

Joel Barlow Joel Barlow (March 24, 1754 – December 26, 1812) was an American poet, and diplomat, and politician. In politics, he supported the French Revolution and was an ardent Jeffersonian republican. He worked as an agent for American speculator Wil ...

* Valentin Iremonger *

Nizar Qabbani Nizar Tawfiq Qabbani ( ar, نزار توفيق قباني, , french: Nizar Kabbani; 21 March 1923 – 30 April 1998) was a Syrian diplomat, poet, writer and publisher. He is considered to be Syria's National Poet. His poetic style combines sim ...

* Ahmed Fouad Shennib * Abioseh Davidson Nicol * Eduardo Cote Lamus * Shathel Taqa * Salah Stétié * David Rubadiri * Salah Ahmed Ibrahim * John Weston *

Li Zhaoxing Li Zhaoxing (; born 20 October 1940 in Jiaonan, Qingdao, Shandong) is a Chinese diplomat and politician. He served as the Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China from 2003 to 2007. He graduated from Peking University in 1964. He ...

* Homero Aridjis * Ljubomir Nedić * Reda Mansour *

Aleksander Griboyedov Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedov (russian: Александр Сергеевич Грибоедов, ''Aleksandr Sergeevich Griboedov'' or ''Sergeevich Griboyedov''; 15 January 179511 February 1829), formerly romanized as Alexander Sergueevich Gri ...

* George Henry Boker * Robert Bulwer-Lytton *

Abd al Aziz al-Amawi ‘Abd al-‘Azīz al-Amawī ( ar, عبد العزيز الأموي; 1838–1896) was a Somali scholar following the Shāfi‘ī school of jurisprudence and the Ash'arite school of theology, and was a Sufi shaykh of the Qādiryya Sufi order, of w ...

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (17 August 1840 – 10 September 1922), sometimes spelt Wilfred, was an English poet and writer. He and his wife Lady Anne Blunt travelled in the Middle East and were instrumental in preserving the Arabian horse bloodlines ...

* Luís Caetano Pereira Guimarães Júnior * James Rennell Rodd * Elena Vacarescu * Émile Martel * Félix Rubén García Sarmiento *

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

* Pablo Neruda *

James Weldon Johnson James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871June 26, 1938) was an American writer and civil rights activist. He was married to civil rights activist Grace Nail Johnson. Johnson was a leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peop ...

Abdul Hadi Dawai Abdul Hadi Dawi ( ps, عبدالهادي داوي 1894 - 1982) was an Afghan poet, diplomat and government official. His works were published under his pen name, Pareshan (worried). Biography Abdul Hadi Dawi was born to a Daavi Afghan family in ...

* José Gorostiza Alcalá *

Jorge Carrera Andrade Jorge Carrera Andrade was an Ecuadorian poet, historian, author, and diplomat during the 20th century. He was born in Quito, Ecuador in 1902. He died in 1978. During his life and after his death he has been recognized with Jorge Luis Borges, Vice ...

* Denis Devlin *

* Peter Zsoldos * Milan Rakić * Jānis Peters *

Jovan Dučić Jovan Dučić ( sr-cyr, Јован Дучић, ; 17 February 1871 – 7 April 1943) was a Herzegovinian Serb poet-diplomat and academic. He is one of the most influential Serbian lyricists and modernist poets. Dučić published his first collec ...

Miloš Crnjanski Miloš Crnjanski ( sr-cyr, Милош Црњански, ; 26 October 1893 – 30 November 1977) was a Serbian writer and poet of the expressionist wing of Serbian modernism, author, and a diplomat. Biography Crnjanski was born in Csongrád (mode ...

* Joao Cabral de Melo Neto * Abdülhak Hamit Tarhan *

Yamanoue no Okura was a Japanese poet, the best known for his poems of children and commoners. He was a member of Japanese missions to Tang China. He was also a contributor to the Man'yōshū and his writing had a strong Chinese influence. Unlike other Japanese po ...

Poet-Ambassadors

These poets have also served as Ambassadors of their countries * Thomas Wyatt: He was an Ambassador in the service of Henry VIII * Pablo Neruda: He served as Ambassador of Chile to France from 1970-1972. *

: He served as Ambassador of Mexico to India from 1962-1968. * George Seferis: He served as Ambassador of Greece to UK from 1957-1962. *

: He was given the rank of Ambassador of France in 1950 but did not serve as Ambassador to any country. *

: He is India's 21st Ambassador to Madagascar with concurrent accreditation to Comoros. * Amarendra Khatua: He served as India's Ambassador and High Commissioner to Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. * Dora Vasconcellos: She served as the Brazilian ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago from 1970 to her death.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Poetry and Diplomacy Poetry Diplomacy in the CongoPoetry as an Act of International DiplomacyPoetry the new tool of soft diplomacy Poetry and Diplomacy in the Zuozhuan Leilani Tamu - poetry and diplomacy
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