Pablo Neruda's Death

Relatives, friends, and appreciators world-wide have long believed that Pablo Neruda died by poison, murdered, instead of "natural causes due to cancer." His death occurred shortly after Pinochet toppled Allende, who was Neruda's friend. Check out 'NPR, Neruda' to hear the account.

of new research now shows the toxin botulism where there should be none--amid Neruda's remains and in the soil around.

This makes me recall an interview with the playwright and poet Vaclav Havel, who was arrested and incarcerated by the Russians when they "took" what was then Czechoslovakia. Survived for over 20 years in durance vile, and was elected president of the new Czech Republic--at which point he commented "Tyrants always lock up or kill the poets–first."

Why? Why Havel? Why Neruda? Why did Stalin send so many poets to their deaths in the gulag?

There is a reason that "The pen is mightier than the sword." Poets' words reach more than the head--they hit the hearts, the guts, the memories, the consciences, the physical experiences of their readers. Poets make change inevitable. No wonder they are so loved, as Neruda was, and so feared by tyrants whose methods of controlling people include activating their fears, scapegoating, and distracting. It's important to think about. We live it a time when there is a huge "infotainment" industry that churns out the fear-blame dog and pony show 24/7. The ubiquity of television and the Internet makes it the never-ending story.

And then there are the poets and writers who use language to tell their truths and give voice to the voiceless.