I was dizzy with excitement from the moment he began to speak. What a tremendous discovery! Amazingly, I had never been aware of Galeano or his books and find it odd considering how widely I have read some of his Latin contemporaries and those to whom he has been compared. Anyway, it’s a great find, and I look forward to reading his oeuvre.
His words were poetry, and they effortlessly floated on his accent. You can enjoy the podcast here, and I encourage you to do so.
Of the many things he said, two things jumped out and caused me to grab the first pen and begin to scribble.
“Perhaps the night knows more about us than the day time.”
In a few words, this compact sentence, Galeano puts forth the mystery of dreams and what happens when we’re asleep. I could almost hear him smile. I could almost hear the question mark at the end. It was beautiful.
Later in the broadcast as he talked about history and storytelling, and he talked about learning by listening in the cafes. He said that he realized, “Past could be lived as present. Facing the boundaries of time was the beautiful task of the storyteller.”
Without knowing Eduardo Galeano, I imagine that he’s a man that has lived fully, lived knowingly. It seems that he doesn’t believe in boundaries or limitations, and it is this conviction that translates humanity into a melody of words.
Here are a few more links to Eduardo Galeano. Enjoy…
