Leónidas Lamborghini (1927-2009) was an Argentine journalist, dramaturge and poet. A cult figure in Argentine literature, he began his working life as a textile and factory laborer. He left the factory floor for the press in 1955, publishing his first book of poems, Saboteador arrepentido[Repentant saboteur], that same year. A mid-career work, The Garden of Poets was written during his exile in Mexico City following the 1976 right-wing coup. Lamborghini was the recipient of the 1991 Leopoldo Marechal Prize, the Diploma al Mérito en Poesía (2004) and the Arturo Jauretche Prize for achievements in culture and human rights (2005) Known for his delirious, absurdist and frenetic writing, Lamborghini wrote The Garden as a respite from the “pressure cooker” of his then-day job in advertising.

TRANSLATION

Selections from The Garden of Poets

By LEóNIDAS LAMBORGHINI

Translated from Spanish by Anayvelyse Allen-Mossman