Xavier hosting “greatest living Latin American poet”

Nobel prize nominee and Nicaraguan Catholic Priest Ernesto Cardenal will read from his 1989 work Cántico Cósmico, accompanied by the English translation, at Xavier University’s Gallagher Center Theatre on Monday, September 8, 2008 at 7:30 pm. Admission is free and all are welcome. For more information, please call 745-4240.

Many critics consider Fr. Ernesto Cardenal to be the greatest living Latin American poet, often compared with another Nicaraguan poet, Rubén Darío. Well-known as a spokesperson for justice in Central America, he served as Minister of Culture under the Sandinista government in Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990. He was educated at Jesuit schools in Nicaragua and in Mexico and then at Columbia University. He was ordained a priest in 1965 in Nicaragua.

Fr. Cardenal’s appearance is made possible by Voices of Solidarity (VOS); Student Organization of Latinos (SOL); Xavier’s Spanish Club, Department of Modern Languages in the College of Social Sciences, Health & Education; Ethics, Religion and Society Program; the Academic Service Learning Semester Programs, the Latin American Studies Minor and the Office of the Provost.