Learning How to Die
By Pablo Armando Fernandes
Ttranslated with an introduction by John Brotherton
Havana: Editorial Jose Marti, 1996.
Review by John Nebauer
Learning How to Die (Aprendiendo a morir) is an English/Spanish anthology of poetry by Pablo Armando Fernandez, widely regarded as one of Cuba's leading poets of the 20th century. Fernandez was sent to the United States in 1945 as a youth to be educated, returning to Cuba after the victory of the revolution in 1959.
Fernandez's work deals with, in the words of translator John Brotherton, "its creator's unceasing quest to avoid the curse inherent to his craft, that of being an outsider, a spectator of the world rather than a participant".
These themes are evident even with his earliest works, for example "Al Hudson" (To the Hudson), in which the poet on the river bank watches the tumult flow by. The flow is attractive, but the river must also taken on its own terms: "Your reality challenges my illusion./ But, why should a river be concerned with the doubts, the trembling fears of a boy?"
Like José Martí, the hero of the national liberation struggle, Fernandez lived "within the monster", and became acquainted with "its entrails". He did not return to Cuba permanently until 1959, after the triumph of the revolution. His poetry reveals a crisis of conscience because of his absence while the revolutionary movement was challenging the Batista dictatorship.
Several poems are dedicated to heroes of the revolution, many of which were published in his collection The Book of Heroes (Libro de los Heroes) in 1964. In "Heroes", "the dust-ridden heart/ of the scrubland blazed/ and began to live again/ for a pure event".
Two poems honour Abel Santamaria, a central leader of the revolutionary movement in the early days of the anti-Batista struggle. He was arrested on July 26, 1953 — the day of the assault on the Moncada barracks — tortured and then killed. The focus of one is the conquest of fear, and the necessity to overcome its legacy so that we can change.
The other is a powerful and personal image. While the poet and Santamaria have much in common, Santamaria "has something which does not reside in me". Pablo thinks "of the young men throughout the world/ who, like you, buy colourful shirts,/ a tie, a handkerchief,/ and go out into the streets, throw stones,/ shout,/ spit at/ and defy the wall of gendarmes".
The women in Pablo Armando's work are generally maternal figures, who even if committed to the cause play an essentially supporting role.
In "The Poet on the Death of his Mother", a series of evocative portraits reveal her pivotal role in the family. The portrait that emerges is of a woman of determination and commitment, but who is also taciturn.
Yet in "Silent Drum-roll", the woman is firmly at centre stage. The poem is about Josefa Galan, who lost her only son in the struggle, and took up the rifle to continue that struggle. Again there is the contrast between the poet, on the periphery of action, and quiet, exemplary heroism.
"On the Final Victory" was written at the height of the 1962 missile crisis, and expresses the revolutionary determination of the Cuban people, whose "strength comes from this demonstration". This is a rare overtly political piece, and one of his best.
John Brotherton, head of modern language studies at UNSW, has done a fine job in preserving the feel of the selections, and has also included a good introduction to the work of Pablo Armando. Brotherton was president of the Australia-Cuba Friendship Society for several years, and led the first work brigades to Cuba.