With More Pomp Than Literary Acclaim, Chileans Embrace Pablo Neruda at 100 (NY Times):
SANTIAGO, Chile, July 10 — Pablo Neruda may be Latin America's greatest modern poet, but the centennial of his birth did not start auspiciously: late last year, his childhood home was sold and its new owner demolished it, after a group of Neruda fans could not meet the purchase price.
Since then, though, Chileans, with their government in the lead, have done everything possible to build up the image of a poet who at times during his life was as persecuted for his Communist beliefs and reviled for his bohemian lifestyle as he was admired for his work. With the birthday itself falling on Monday [today], Chile is firmly in the grip of what can only be called Neruda fever. [...]
"Neruda no longer divides Chile," said Faride Zerán, editor of the literary magazine Rocinante and author of a book about the poet and his critics. "But in order for that state of affairs to be achieved, we are being served up a decaffeinated Neruda, a Neruda light, with an anecdotal focus on his houses, his women and his collections, instead of a serious discussion of his work." [...]
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on Monday, July 12, 2004 at 9:59 AM.
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