Letters from the Edge: Outrider Conversations by Margaret Randall

Managua, October 30th, 1981

Dearest Arnaldo and Laurette:

I have your letter from August, Arnaldo, ­ after you saw the­ children in Cuba. I’m embarrassed not to have answered sooner. I can only say, in my defense, that ­ these past few months have been exhausting in ­ every way. In the first place, the situation of constant imperialist attack has us in a state of stress. Ana is in an army reserve battalion, the 50-13 out of San Judas, and during the worst moments of “Operation Halcón Vista” she was constantly being called up. The counterrevolution, both inside and out of the country, continues to do ­ great damage as we knew it would—­not unlike what Cuba has experienced for all ­ these many years. Despite all this, the ­ process of transformation is ­ going well, with a ­great deal of effort and quite a few successes.

As for me, I continue to work on my book about religion in Nicaragua. I fi­nally de­cided to focus on two proj­ects, one­ here in the city in the El Rigueiro neighborhood where ­ Father Uriel Molina and some university students formed a community in 1972-73. ­ Those students ­today are among the leaders of the revolution. Some are even members of the FSLN’s National Directorate. The second is the contemplative community that Ernesto Cardenal founded in Solentiname in 1966 and that continued ­until October of 1977 when Somoza attacked the San Carlos Barracks. I think that through ­these two experiences—one made up of students and workers and the other composed of poor peasants, I ­will be able to give an idea of what’s happening in the Church, its development and goals in conjunction with the revolution. I think that limiting my story to ­those two places, I’ll be able to focus more deeply.

And so, I’ve been working ­ every week with ­ Father Molina. A few weeks ago, I was fi­nally able to go to Solentiname with Ernesto. ­There ­ were a lot of ­ people ­ there to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the attack on San Carlos, so I was able to interview many of the original participants. Ernesto and I stayed an extra week, and I was able to speak with ­ people who’d been in the community for more than ten years. It was a marvelous experience. I took a lot of photo­ graphs and filled more than ten cassettes. I’m enclosing some of my personal journal from that time so you ­ will have a more in-depth idea of what I was able to accomplish.

I have good news from the kids in Cuba. Sarah began university and seems to be much happier. She is living at home, which she loves (she’s got my old room) and is ­doing excellently at school. So far, she ­ really likes her major, which is chemical engineering. Goyo is ­ great as always, in his next to last year of university now and with a lot of work. Ximena is in her last year of high school. She seems to be the one who needs me most, but also seems good in her recent letters.

I received a copy of the second edition of Todas estamos despiertas. I’m glad that the book has been selling so well. ­Here you ­can’t find it anywhere. Well, I came back from Solentiname with malaria and still ­ don’t feel completely well. So, I’ll close now with big hugs for the two of you and my hope that ­ we’ll see one another soon. —Margaret.

Mexico, D.F, May 10th, 1982

Dear Margaret:

We received your April 16th letter at the end of last month. We also loved your last visit ­ here and were sorry you ­ couldn’t have stayed longer close to us. I want to briefly tell you about what’s happened with El espíritu de un pueblo. The book has had two editions so far for a total of 4,000 copies. Unfortunately, the printer, for reasons they consider justifiable, destroyed 435 copies. Four hundred three copies ­ were sent to Spain, and we ­ will ask them to return what ­ haven’t sold. I’ll send you a complete accounting of the edition.

We continue to follow that ­ great country and its ­ great revolution with the warmest interest. At the moment, we are preparing to publish Omar Cabezas’ book. I think it’s very beautiful and ­ we’ll try to host a launch which he said he would attend.

Laurette has begun to complete her exploration at Teotihuacán, continuing the work she began a ­decade ago. She asks me to send you and Ana her love along with mine. —A hug, Arnaldo

(From Chapter II. Laurette Séjourné:
Compass, Mentor, Friend and Arnaldo Orfila: A Man Who Filled a Century)

•

Those I call outriders ­ aren’t outlaws; they ­ aren’t defined by crossing ­ legal lines or engaging in unlawful acts. Neither are they flamboyant or attention-­getters. But they are unusual. They generally ­don’t pay attention to society’s prescription for success. Defying pressures to conform, they allow their passion for what they do to lead them to unexplored territory.Their iconoclasm has helped them prioritize a discipline in what they make and do. Their devotion to a practice engenders rich exploration and their per­sis­tence helps imbue that practice with originality and power.

The epistolary genre is unique. It is immediate and not overly polished, reflecting the place, time, and history propelling each letter writer. Letters ­ aren’t written for publication, but carry a spontaneity and authenticity not often found in the more formal literary genres. They are by their nature a dialogue, depending on both correspondents to push it forward. They are generally not produced for posterity but may turn out to be a more in­terest­ing mirror ­because of this. Most of the letters in this book ­ were written long before digital communication. They traveled long distances, sometimes by unsophisticated means, and carried with them a desire to sit down with the other for a face-­to-face conversation. Nostalgia and desire live between the lines. The thoughtfulness generated by slow travel imbues them with a quality that is often missing ­today.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::(from the book’s last chapter, “Final Thoughts”)

Published by New Village Press on April 2025

Buy Book HERE

Margaret Randall is a poet, writer, translator, photographer, and activist who has lived in New York, Mexico City, Havana, Cuba, Managua, Nicaragua, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, with short stays in North Vietnam and Lima, Peru. Her time in these places often coincided with major sociopolitical upheavals or pivotal historic moments. She edited an important bilingual literary magazine for eight years out of Mexico City and has known some of the great minds of her generation. When she returned to the United States, the US government ordered her deported because of opinions expressed in some of her books, and she was forced to wage a five-year battle for restoration of citizenship. Her correspondence with those she met along the way makes for exciting reading.

Randall is the recipient of numerous international awards and the author of over 200 books, four of which were published by New Village Press: My Life in 100 Objects, Artists in My Life, Risking a Somersault in the Air, and Luck.

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Posted: May 1, 2025 at 1:28 am