Pablo Antonio Cuadra

Pablo Antonio Cuadra (1912-2002) was a Nicaraguan essayist, art and literary critic, playwright, graphic artist and one of the most famous poets of Nicaragua. He won many literary honors, among them the Gabriela Mistral Inter-American Cultural Prize awarded by the Organization of American States in 1991.

Wisdom & Quotes

• Let us be clear: censorship is cowardice. ... It makes corruption. It is a school of torture: it teaches, and accustoms one to the use of force against an idea, to submit thought to an alien "other". But worst still, censorship destroys criticism, which is the essential ingredient of culture.

- Notes on Culture in the New Nicaragua

• The human condition... is defined by the aspiration to always supersede oneself, which in turn requires non-conformity.

- ibid

• Any revolution which denies the right to criticise is bound to wallow in stagnation and backwardness.

- ibid. , Vuelta

• Hypocrisy, false labels, can create slogans but no poems; propaganda but not life: there are no roots, there are no realities to nurture creative work.

- ibid

Vo Nguyen Giap