Questions from Galeano

 On second thought, a better explanation of the kind of book Eduardo Galeano wrote in The Book of Embraces: 

I mentioned that the margins of my copy are filled with notes, most of which are questions. They are not questions about material in the book. They are questions for me. I’m not sure if I asked them or if Galeano did.

In the first of two items about the poet Pablo Neruda, Galeano tells of visiting one of the homes of the dead poet. People cannot ask the sage for advice, so they leave notes on the fence outside. In the second, Galeano tells of another house where Neruda lived. The house was boarded up when people heard a creepy noise inside. Investigating, they inexplicably found an eagle.

What kind of stories do we tell ourselves when our heroes die? What kind of stories do we tell ourselves in grief?

Did Galeano ask those questions? Or did I, reading his book, do the asking?

Sometimes, when you have a good conversation, it’s like that. This book is like that.

• Source: Eduardo Galeano, The Book of Embraces, translated by Cedric Belfrage; New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1991. “Neruda/1 and Neruda/2” are on pp. 38-9.