Papers of Nicaraguan Luminary Find Home at Benson Collection

AUSTIN, Texas - The archive of Nicaraguan poet, priest and political activist Ernesto Cardenal will open in November at the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection at The University of Texas at Austin. Admired and controversial, Cardenal is a towering figure in Central American culture and politics. He is a multifaceted poet who incorporates history and science in his verses, and a priest who defied the Catholic hierarchy by engaging in a revolutionary armed conflict and in the ensuing left-wing government. The archive features rare editions of Cardenal's writings, translations of his poetry, s, photographs, videos, newspaper clippings, documentaries about his life and work, and hundreds of letters to and from key protagonists of Nicaraguan culture and politics. Files relating to Cardenal's activities as minister of culture during the 1980s Sandinista government are currently being digitized. The originals will be given to the Historical Institute of Nicaragua and Central America, or Instituto de Historia de Nicaragua y Centroamérica. Among the archive's treasures are letters to Cardenal from Trappist monk Thomas Merton, an influential figure in Cardenal's life.