Nicaraguan poet on U.S. tour

Poet, religious iconoclast and political figure Ernesto Cardenal is touring the U.S. on a promotion tour for his collection of poems “The Origin of Species.”

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April 19, 2011

Nicaraguan revolutionary poet and Catholic priest Ernesto Cardenal reads some of his latest poetry at the Loyola Notre Dame Library in Baltimore.

Dennis Drenner / For The Washington Post

June 10, 1983

Ernesto Cardenal, center, then Nicaragua's minister of culture, stands next to Argentine pacifist Adolfo Perez Esquivel as they take part in a Latin America Day event in Hanover, Germany, in 1983.

Norbert Foersterling / AP

1983

Pope John Paul II scolds Cardenal during a visit to Managua in 1983. Cardenal had refused the Pontiff's order to resign as minister of culture. According to Vatican sources, the Pope told Cardenal, "You must straighten out your position with the church."

/ AP

Jan. 19, 2005

Cardenal receives the Order of Ruben Dario from Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos to honor his service to Nicaragua and to humanity in the fields of art and literature in Managua in 2005.

Esteban Felix / AP

May 29, 2006

Cardenal strolls though downtown San Jose, Costa Rica, in 2006. He was in town for an international poetry festival.

Kent Gilbert / AP

July, 2, 2006

Cardenal offers condolences to Carmen Garcia, the wife of Herty Lewites, during a wake in Managua in 2006. The presidential candidate had died of a heart attack months prior to national elections.

Eestban Felix / AP

Aug. 29, 2008

Cardenal signs autographs for supporters in his home where he was under house arrest in 2008 for allegedly slandering a German businessman during a land dispute.

Esteban Felix / AP

July 27, 2009

Cardenal receives the Pablo Neruda Poetry Prize during a ceremony at La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago in 2009.

Santiago Llanquin / AP

April 19, 2011

Cardenal reads some of his latest poetry at the Loyola Notre Dame Library in Baltimore in April.

Dennis Drenner / For The Washington Post

April 19, 2011

Cardenal reads his poetry. Cardenal’s appearances in the United States were greeted with hostility among some conservative Catholics.

Dennis Drenner / For The Washington Post

April 19, 2011

Students Sara Norouzieh, left to right, Aubrei Barton and Victoria Barney applaud at the end of Cardenal's reading. The audience broke into applause when Cardenal read from a poem that asserts multinational corporations are responsible for countless deaths in Africa.

Dennis Drenner / For The Washington Post

April 19, 2011

Cardenal flashes a smile during a poetry reading at Loyola.

Dennis Drenner / For The Washington Post

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