Cuba: The Dictator and the Poet

The case of Heberto Padilla is of great importance, first as a reflection of the increasing Stalinization of the Castro regime, and second as a test of the responses that are elicited among what, I suppose, must be called the “Left” intellectuals. For readers unfamiliar with this case, let me present a brief factual summary:

On March 20, 1971, Heberto Padilla, a prominent Cuban poet and supporter of the Castro regime, was arrested on unspecified charges and imprisoned in Ha...