World Literature and South America in Early UNESCO Translation Projects

UNESCO's early literature translation projects reveal a contrasting combination of national identities and one-world narratives. This work traces connections between intellectuals involved in such projects. UNESCO archives show how its committee defined that the Collection of Representative Works should include books that were at once universal and particular to their nationality. The world of transnational publishing that had in wartime announced "books as weapons in the war of ideas" was in postwar requiring books for peace and mutual understanding. UNESCO editions of Brazilian novels also suggest internationalism was incorporated in Brazil's search for a national identity, and the complexities found in the archives shed light on the role of culture in foreign policy and vice versa.