Centre for Romanian Studies

Poetry in Translation (CCCLIII), Heberto PADILLA (1932-2000), CUBA/ U.S.A.: “Out of the Game”, “În afara jocului”

Heberto Padilla

Heberto Padilla
(1932-2000)

Out of the Game

The poet! Kick him out!
He has no business here.
He doesn’t play the game.
He never gets excited
Or speaks out clearly.
He never even sees the miracles.

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Heberto Padilla
(1932-2000)

În afara jocului

Poetul! Daţi-l afară!
N-are ce face aici.
El nu joacă jocul.
E fără entuziasm
Şi nu se exprimă clar.
Nici măcar nu vede miracolul.

Rendered in Romanian by Constantin ROMAN,
© 2015 Copyright Constantin ROMAN, London

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SHORT BIO: Born in Cuba and exiled in the USA, Heberto PADILLA’s trajectory was coloured by controversy. Aged only 21, Padilla returned to Cuba to join the throng of enthusiasts backing Fidel Castro, only to fall from grace two decades later and be denounced as a “counterrevolutionary” and imprisoned on trumped up charges. Nothing unusual in witnessing the revolutionary dragon devouring its own children, but, in the process, Padilla spent a brief time in jail only to be rescued by overseas protest. The poet’s fall from grace was made as per a well-rehearsed scenario: he was made to recant publicly, in a humiliating show down. Again the international public opinion rebounded which caused the Communist regime to allow Padilla to leave for the USA, in 1980, where he died two decades later. His poetry is a reflection of the author’s own turbulent trials.