Neruda's reply and a oO rebuttal by the authors of the "Open Letter." These appeared in the |, August 14 issue of Granma.
:LIn the Hispanic world, Pablo Neruda is generally recognized as Latin America's greatest living poet, ranking as one of the ton three in the whole history of Latin-American poetry. Besides his 7 renown .as a poet, Pablo Neruda is also a well-known political figure. He served as a consular official for Chile in various countries. During the Civil War in Spain he openly expressed his opposition to Franco and was recalled by the Chilean government. Elected to the Senate during World War II, he joined the Communist party of Chile. When the party was banned, he went into exile, living abroad until 1953. Some. of Neruda's poems frankly reflect his political views.
[Neruda's revolutionary convictions stand to his credit. It. must be observed, however, that he is not an independent political ~ thinker. In 1953 he was awarded the Stalin Prize, an honor not unrelated to flattering verses he composéd in praise of the dictator when the "cult of the personality" was in fashion among the Commu-_. nist parties. He is at present a member of the Central Committee of the Communist party of Chile.
[Despite his fame in the Hispanic world, Pablo Neruda is little known in the English-speaking world. A Selection of his poems is available, however» in a bilingual book published in 1961 by -. Grove Press. Lee
[We call special attention to Neruda's reference, in his’ reply, to the "opinions of U.S. Communists" as justification in part for the way he conducted himself. Unfortunately, he does not explain in what way the "U.S. Communists" encouraged him to play the role he did. The authors of the "Open Letter" refrain from challenging Neruda on this. Perhaps they are considering the advisability of taking Neruda's hint and sending an open inquiry to the
*Selected Poems of Pablo Henaday edited and translated - by en Belitt, Grove Press, Inc., New York. :320 pp. $2.95.
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leaders: of the Communist. -party,:-U.S.A.. From the viewpoint of revolutionary socialist -principles,. this, would seem unavoidable if -- as. . seems:likely -- the leaders -of the North American organization maintaiin:-a-policy of. silence about.-this instructive exchange between the leading intellectuals of the Cuban and Chilean Communist: parties.]
Havana, July 25, 1966-001. "YEAR OF SOLIDARITY". 9 Comrade: ‘Pablo : -
-.. We consider it our duty to.tell you about the concern aroused in jCuba by the use our enemies have made of certain recent activities of yours. We also wish to insist upon certain aspects of United a States policy that must be combatted, and in this struggle we need your aid:as a. great poet and militant revolutionary. ee
-It would not occur to us to censure automatically your particpation in the Pen Club. Congress, which.could have yielded positive results, nor your visit to the United States. since this visit could | alsorhavé yielded positive results for our. causes. But have the _ results.been positive? Before replying, one would do well to consider the reasons that might have motivated the United States to | grant you an entrance-visa, after twenty years of denial. Some say . this is a sign of ithe beginning of the end of the so-called cold wae war..However, at what other time in the years since the war in Korea hasta socialist~country been subjected to the systematic physical. | aggression that-.Viet Nam is suffering today? Can any evidence of our entry into a period of universal harmony be found in the recent ...— coups.d/état organized with the participation of. the United States” . in Indonesia, Ghana, Nigeria,-Brazil, and.Argentina? No honest per-. son can hold such an opinion. If the United States, despite this. reality, grants entry visas to certain leftists, this must have © other explanations. In some cases, it, is because the "leftists" have ceased to be leftists, and have converted themselves, on the contrary, into diligent collaborators with U.S. policy. In other instances” ~ involving authentic leftists (which. is your: case and that. of several other participants in the Congress), the United States expects to _. derive some benefit from their presence:.for example, creation of. the belief that world tension has.relaxed; diversion of attention ~~ from crimes the U.S. is committing on the three underdeveloped. con-. tinents (and from crimes being planned, as in the case of Cuba); and above all neutralization of the growing opposition to U.S. policy | among students and intellectuals, not. only. in Latin America. put also within the United States itself. Some time ago, Jean Paul. Sartre... | rejected an invitation to: visit the United States in order to avoid. being used, and also to: give concrete. expression to. his repudiation of U.S. aggression in Viet Nam.. Although we. know of your politically honest statements and other positive activities.of yours, there is” reason to believe, Pablo, that..your: recent, visit to the United, States was intended to be used and, in fact, has been used _ in furtherance of U.S. policy. Pee Pots ff apd
In that organ of imperialist propaganda known as LIFE en- i espanol (LIFE in Spanish -- whosé very.name gives a whole definition: a veritable program), Carlos Fuentes, whose byline as a contributor there surprised us, outlines the Congress you attended in an article | entitled: "THE PEN: burial of the cold war in literature" (August 1, 1966). One of the most outstanding figures at this supposed burial, he notes, was you. We also discovered incidentally, thanks to this article, that the round table of the Latin-American group was chaired by Emir Rodriguez Monegal, whom Fuentes audaciously labels as the "U Thant of Spanish American literature," but whom, with equal meta-= phoric poverty but greater accuracy, he might better have called the "Quisling of Spanish American literature." As you know, Rodriguez Monegal has been given the editorship of the new Spanish-language magazine (after the failure of Cuadernos) published by the Congress for Cultural Freedom, an organization financed by the CIA, according to The New York Times (International ‘Edition, April 28, 1966).
It is unthinkable for us to entone the praises of a supposed. . peaceful coexistence or sing of the end of the cold war in any field at a time when U.S. troops, fresh from aggressions in the Congo and the Dominican Republic, are savagely attacking Viet Nam and when the’ U.S. is preparing once again to do the same in Cuba (either directly or through the use of Latin-American mercenaries). For us, Latin Americans: for us, men of the Third World, the road to:true coexis— tence and the definitive termination of war (cold as well. as hot). must pass through guerrilla warfare and the struggle for national”. liberation, and not through impossible reconciliation. Since the » necessary precondition to coexistence is existence, the only peaceful coexistence we can believe in must be integral, the kind postulated by President Dorticés in Cairo: peaceful coe existence which will prevent bombs from falling not only on New York and Moscow, but on Hanoi and Havana as well; which will permit the complete liberation of all our peoples, the poorest and most numerous on earth.
"We aspire," as Fidel has said, "to a- “world in which’ equality of right prevails for the small (nations) the same as’ for. the great. "
“We are not Christian Democrats, we are not reformists,. we are not ostriches. We are revolutionaries. We believe, .as the Second Declaration of Havana states, that "the duty of a revolutionary is to make the revolution," and that only the fulfillment of this duty. will make it possible to exist ~- and coexist -- and put an end toall war.
It is not enough to protest verbally against the most obvious aggressions. It is not enough to deplore, for example, the criminal war in Viet Nam which is only one particularly horrible manifesta- tion of Yankee policy, made possible by other steps taken previously. All support for the earlier steps must also be denied, and, when the case arises, all support must be given to those who unleash revolutionary | violence to combat the violence of oppression. -
Proof. of the fact that the U.S. imperialists believe that
your :trip.-has -beenchighly favorable to them may be found in the enthusiasm expressed about the visit by spokesmen: for U.S. interests, such as LIFE en Espafiol and the "Voice of the United States of America." If they believed for a moment that your visit had served the -peoples' cause, would they. have been so jubilant?.It causes us concern, -therefore;j.that they have been. able to.use:you in .this way. It: is sad, nothing more, that some: miscreants.lend themselves for. “cthis purpose in return for ‘direct or indirect rewards fromthe impe- -rialists. But that»you -- truly great in your profound and; original literary -work,:and. great as:weil-insyour ‘political posture: ‘above any suspicion. of courting: such rewards --.can be used for. these purposes: is, we think, more than merely.sad; we find it. grave ;. and con- “sider: ‘it our duty. as -comrades to call it. to your attention. a
Skea
“While. itcis: ‘true that. your visit to the United ‘States. ‘has ‘been used.” in this: ‘way, it is nonetheless possible to think that other ‘results: might have been obtained from it; but what possible positive interpretation can be given to your acceptance of a decoration from the: Peruvian government and your | cordial tuncheon with President a Bélatinde‘ Do ae
When you were in exile, Pablo, what would you have thought OF ‘any writer or political figure of Latin America who permitted Gabriel Gonzalez Videla to decorate him and chat cordially with him? Would: “you. have thought that it strengthened the bonds between Chile: and, the writer's country? Would you have conceded Gabriel GonzAlez.-.: Videla the honor of representing Chile: while you, precisely for. being a true representative of your people, were exiled? eres
You can easily: imagine, therefore, the present. thoughts and feelings. of not only those in exile but also of the guerrillas in. the mountains of Pert who are fighting valiantly. for their: country! Ss liberation; of the numerous political prisoners who, because they are in agreement with the. guerrillas, are. ianguishing in Peruvian prisons: and: some’ of whom,.such.as’ Héctor Béjar, lie slowly dying; of- others who are: living under threat of the death. sentence imposed “upon: those who: lend aid to the new liberators of their country: ~~... the followers of. Javier Heraud, Iwis de la Puente, and Guillermo .. Lobat6n,. whose blood has. been added to that of the martyrs of whom you have” sung: in magnificent poems. Will they: accept the idea that the Belatinde government, in according you this medal (at the sug- gestion of whatever organization), was able to do this in the name of Perti?. They, and: not the rulers you: amicably comported with, are. the true representatives of the Peruvian people, just as the true. representatives: of Chile are the miners who were: massacred,- "Recabarren, the exiled Neruda: who gave us his. splendid Canto. General, the or Fre popular leaders of your great people, and not Gonzalez Videla or Frei.
‘Preé: has been chosen by: the: Yankees as the leader of their. reformism:.(they even permit him to have relations with the. USSR), in . the same way that the "gorillas" of Brazil, and lately of Argentina as well ,.'are. their leaders of military governments.. But one and the other, using differing methods, share the same objective: to halt. :
3Q—
or crush the-liberation struggle. These actions of yours have not “strengthened: the borids between Pert and Chile, but between Belaunde and Frei: Yankee: imperialisn. _ os -Cledtly, Pablo, the ones who have profited - from your: recent: activities: are: neither the revolutionaries of Latin America nor, for example ,- ‘the ‘Negroes of the United States. Those who have benefited- ‘are-‘the ones who ‘propose a remarkable kind of coexistence which ignores the déspoiled masses and those who are engaged in the liberation struggle. This is a kind of coexistence which is reserved for “the pro-reformist petty bourgeoisie, for those who want Marxism with- “out revolution, for the intellectuals and writers of Latin America, rejected up to now, humiliated, unknown and defrauded. The imperialists have thought of a new way to buy up another of our continent's raw materials: the intellectual. Transported luxuriously to the United States, he is returned to our peoples in the form of "an intellectual who believes in the revolution made with the good faith and encouragement of the U.S.State Department." The real situation in his country has not changed. What has changed is the position of that intellectual in society, or rather, his position with respect to the imperial metropolis.
Latin America is in a state of permanent violence, manifested in constant military coups, of which the most recent is the one in Argentina, repression in Guatemala and Pert, systematic slaughter in Colombia, massacre of demonstrating workers in Chile, "suicides" of guerrilla leaders in Venezuela, military intervention in the Dominican Republic, and a constantly menacing posture toward Cuba. The Latin-American intellectual returns to his country and raises his voice to proclaim in dulcet tones: "The new era of coexistence has begun..." No! What has begun is the epoch of violence, social as well as literary, between the peoples and imperialism.
The people’ continue hungry, suffocated, longing for social equality, education, material well-being and dignity not afforded by any simple statements appearing in LIFE. Of course, any Latin- American intellectual can go-to New York, to Washington if necessary, but he must go to struggle, to present matters in our own terms. This is our moment in history and we can in no way renounce it. We do not speak in the name of a country nor of a literary circle. We speak in the name of all the peoples of Latin America, all the humiliated and hungry peoples of the world. We speak in the name of two-thirds of humanity. The "new left" and "literary coexistence" -terms invented now by the imperialists and reformists to serve their “own interests, just as before they invented the "cold war" to describe their campaigns of undeclared war upon the forces of progress -- are new instruments for dominating our peoples.
In the same way that the Alliance for Progress is no more _than the attempt to neutralize the Latin-American revolution, the "new cultural policy" of the United States toward Latin America is no more than a way to neutralize our students, professionals, writers ‘and artists in our struggles for liberation. Robert Kennedy admitted this clearly in his televised speech on':May 12: "A revolution is °
coming Cin, Latin. America),...This is a revolution. which will .come, whether we. ‘bike: it..or not. We can: affect. its character, but we. can-. not: : alter its. inevitability." What.-role. will be played by-our stu- -dents, professionals, -writ ; -and artists. in this revolution. which, as Kennedy ‘himself stresses, is. inevitable?. ‘The obstructionist role. of a cowardly and submissive rear guard? Is this in accord with -the..-,.. line. of our-tradition, the tradition of. Marti -and. Maridtegni , Mella and: Ponce: : Vallejo and. -Neruda? We. cite the:-text-of Kennedy's ‘proposal for the first "antitoxin" to be used: against this revolution, -the . truly! revolutionary revolution: "Exchange of..intellectuals and Let dents between -the United States: ‘and: Latin America. me
This is clearly a program ‘of castration, and it has already begun to function. But this "toxin" .of ours, this violence, -is sacred. It has centuries of justification. It is demanded by mils lions of our dead, by millions of condemned and desperate men. It-.. is sanctified by the fury and hope of. the three continents. It has. been encarnated:.‘among us by Tupac, Amaru and Toussaint Louverture ,: Bolivar and San Martin, O'Higgins and Sucre, Judrez and Maceo, - Zapata and Sandino, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, Camilo Torres and Fabricio Ojeda, Turcios and the numerous guerrilla fighters scattered throughout Latin America whose names are still unknown to us. We want a total revolution: a revolution which gives power to the people, which changes the economic structure of our countries, -which makes them politically sovereign, which provides education,.food and justice for all, which restores the dignity.of.Indians; Negroes and mestizos, which finds expression in antiacademic and perpetually dynamic cultural development... To carry out this total revolution, we must be able to rely upon our best analytic and. creative minds from México in the North to Argentina and Chile in. the ‘South.
After the Cuban. Revolution, the United States understands that it is not dealing with a continent of "Latins" or sub-humans, but a continent which is demanding its rightful place in the world, and demanding it violently and now, just as are. its own Negroes, the Negroes of the.U.S.A.. After the Cuban Revolution, the United States, in the same way that it "discovered" that our continent needs agrarian reform, is also: "discovering" that we have a real literature. The most recent step in this process of discovery has been. to propose the purchase (or at least the neutralization) of our intellectuals, so that our.peoples:. may once again be left without a-voice. And it is no longer a matter of using discredited personages such as Arciniegas and: company. The U.S. imperialists.have.used up the conservative-liberals,. the reactionaries, their f£ipst.crop.of agents. Now they must speak in terms of "the left" with men of "the left," since otherwise they would have no audience outside;the worst reactionary circles. They are searching in all realms: (ineluding. the cultural field) for men’ who will pretend to speak in our name while presenting revolution and violence as being in bad-taste.-And by paying a price they find those prudent men, collaborators: and traitors. . , oe
Our mission, pais’ cunot be, under any ieee. to
lend ourselves to playing their game, but to expose ,them..and. attack them.
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We must proclaim a state of alert across the continent: an alert against this-:new imperialist penetration into the field 6f culture; against plans such as "Project Camelot"; against the scholarships which place our students on imperialism's payroll or convert them into simple agents of imperialism; against certain kinds of insidious "aid" to our universities; against the guises assumed by the Congress for Cultural Freedom; against the publications financed by the CIA; against the conversion of our writers into trained par-_ lor monkeys and Yankee sycophants; against translations which, —: Me although they may find an assured place in the catalogs of the big-— gest publishing houses, cannot guarantee the author a place in the history of our peoples nor in the history of humanity.
Some of us shared with you the hard and beautiful years in Spain; others. of us learned from your works how the best: poetry can serve the best causes. We all admire your great work, the pride of. our America. We. need to know that you are unequivocally at our’ side-. in this long’ battle which will end only with the definitive liberation that’ our Che Guevara called’ "la victoria siempre. . " Fraternally, Alejo. Carpentier | 2 ao “‘Graziella Pogolotti Nicolas Guillén: ~~ Rine Leal Juan Marinello ein bp ee José R. “Brene Félix Pita Rodriguez =. = José Rodriguez Feo Roberto Fernandez. Retamar -. ..Humberto Arenal | Lisandro Otero ~ . - . Salvador. Bueno Edmundo Desnoes --: Roberto Branly Ambrosio Fornet | oo Tuis Suardiaz José Antonio Portuondo César Lopez Alfredo Guevara : Rati Aparicio Onelio Jorge Cardoso: — Euclides Vazquez Candela -José Lezgama Lima Inis Marré Virgilio Pinera =.= |. Ezequiel .Vieta Samuel Feijoo 2.9 i: ms Rafael Sudrez Solis Pablo Armando. Fernandez - -Lolté de la Torriente : al ~Heberto Padilla _ -. Gumersindo Martinez Armengued Fayad Jamis a - Aldo. Menéndez Los : Jaime Sarusky ©. . David Fernandez José Soler Puig. i Manuel Diaz Martinez Dora Alonso ' Armando Alvarez Bravo | - Regino Pedroso , Renée . Méndez | Capote | 'José Zacarias Tallet .-°- ~ Jesus Abascal ~ Angel Augier ar Gustavo Eguren - Carlos Felipe -Victor Agostini -Abelardo Estorino . »Jests Orta. (Nabori) José Triana - i? ‘Prancisco de Oraa. Mirta Aguirre ~ . Noel Navarro»: Miguel Barnet : Oscar Hurtado: Jests Diaz José Lorenzo Fuentes.» Nicolas Dorr Reynaldo Gonzalez César Leante . Joaquin Santana: ” '. Antén Arrufat ©. oo José Manuel Otero
Rafael Alcides Pérez ©: .. José Massip:- Alcides Iznaga Eduardo Manet Mariano Rodriguez Herrera Ravil Molina Santiago Alvarez Manuel Pérez Fausto Canel Rogelio Paris Roberto Fandino Enrique Pineda Barnet Miguel Fleitas Rosina Pérez Jorge Fraga Alberto Roldan Manuel Octavio Gémez- Alejandro Saderman Sara Gomez Humberto Solas Sergio Giral Miguel Torres Julio Garcia Espinosa Harry Tanner Tomas Gutiérrez Alea Oscar Valdés ‘Nicol4s Guillén Landrian © Héctor Veitia ‘Manuel Herrera Pastor Vega : José Antonio Jorge Poo Santiago Villafuertes Iuis Lopez: . rhs: ne
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