In memoriam: Alexandre Blokh/Jean Blot

Alexandre Blokh

The PEN community remembers the life of Alexandre Blokh, also known as Jean Blot, who died on 23 December 2019.

Blokh was a French writer, translator, and for eighteen years, International Secretary of PEN International.

“The PEN Community was sad to hear the news of Alexandre Blokh’s passing. For close to two decades, Alexander worked tirelessly to further PEN’s global mission of promoting literature and defending free expression. He devoted much of his energy to develop strong ties between PEN and UNESCO, a relationship that continues to this day. I was lucky to meet him when he was International Secretary and enjoyed working with him, particularly on the process that led to the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights in Barcelona in 1996. He will be missed.”

-Carles Torner, PEN International Executive Director.

"I had the opportunity to work with Alex for two decades. He was a man of intelligence and action and even in the days of challenges and some conflict in PEN, one could never doubt his love and hope for what the organisation represented in the world. I learned from Alex and always respected his intelligence and experience even as PEN grew and changed in governance from when he was International Secretary."

-Joanne Leedom-Ackerman, PEN International Vice President.