Ernesto Cardenal Dies Aged 94

Hello Gentle Reader

Ernesto Cardenal was one of the most socially and politically conscious poets of Nicaragua and the Spanish language. Cardenal’s political perspective was revolutionary, noted for their open Marxist leanings. Ernesto Cardenal also had strong religious connections, becoming a priest and a government minister in his life time; which ultimately gathered the late poet a scolding lecture from the late Pope John Paull II, on a visit to Nicaragua. It was then that Pope John Paul II told Ernesto Cardenal to get his affairs in order spiritually and politically, but to Cardenal the two were interchangeable, and utilized equally in his poems to promote social justice within Nicaragua. For many Nicaraguans Ernesto Cardenal was a literary master, and the absolute moral authority in a country which went from one political regime of corruption to another. Cardenal utilized both gospel teachings and Marxist political philosophies to encourage social and moral reforms throughout the country, and poetry was the form in which he utilized to express these thoughts. Ernesto Cardenal was endeared to the vast readership of the country. As a poet, Cardenal was not interested in being an ivory tower poet; instead he worked diligently and hard to teach his countrymen to read and writer, and appreciate the written word, the spiritual teachings, and political philosophies of governance. Ernesto Cardenal’s poetry was deeply rooted as a form of public service, whereby a poem should not be self-indulgent, hermetic, or explicitly introverted; rather poetry should be exact, an example of public language, for public consumption. It should be read, felt, and recited by the public without hesitation or confusion; it was also to be utilized as a movement or form to create lasting political change; an ideal shared with fellow poets of region: Nobel Laureate Pabulo Neruda and Rubén Darío. Ernesto Cardenal’s poetry left no subject untouched; in his later years, Cardenal included science as a subject in his poetry, penning and publishing a five hundred page epic poem called “Cosmic Canticle,” influenced by the theories produced by physicists Richard Feynman and Stephen Hawking. When asked about the otherwise apparent divide between science and religion, Cardenal remarked that science explains the workings of the universe; a universe crafted and created by God; as far as Ernesto Cardenal was concerned, science merely remarked on the beauty of God’s creation, in the form stars, space, time, and black holes. The wonders of the heaven were but an ocean of potential admiration, and prayer to God. Throughout political crisis, spiritual scolding’s, Ernesto Cardenal was idealistic and optimistic; his poetry a reflection of the potential for human beings to live in peace with themselves, each other, and in the presence of God. There is no denying that Ernesto Cardenal was a literary giant, who was loved and appreciated by those who had read him, were inspired by him, and sought to do better by him.

Rest in Peace Ernesto Cardenal.

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader

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And As Always

Stay Well Read

M. Mary