Posted on November 27, 2018 at 2:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Pablo Neruda admitted to a horrible crime in his own memoirs.

Yet it hasn’t been until recently that feminists have called negative attention to the passage, in which Neruda recounts raping a woman in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

The debate over the Nobel Laureate’s legacy is about to grow even louder, now that a legislative committee in Chile has voted to rename Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in his honor, according to the Guardian.

Previously, Neruda was best known as a Nobel Laureate for poetry and a strong critic of dictatorships.

Some prominent figures have voiced support for the anti-Neruda movement, if only for reassessing the actual merit of his work rather than his symbolism, while others, including Isabel Allende, argue that his writings can be praised even as his behavior is roundly criticized.

It’s now up to Chile’s chamber of deputies to decide what name most international visitors will see upon their arrival.

You can read more about the debate in the Guardian.

Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: Poetry, The Guardian

Comments
There are no comments yet.
Add Comment

* Indicates a required field