A PHRASE OF MARIO BENEDETTI

Mario Benedetti has a special attraction to me for the way he

says things, for some of his poems and novels, and above all, --besides the fact of a historical investigation I made about the places where he worked and lived in Montevideo— because every time I look at any of his pictures, I see a man affable, easy-going, that I imagine spoke slowly and calmly.

I regret the fact that when I lived for years in Montevideo I never tried to meet him personally, and we never encounter accidentally.

Some days ago I was reading some of his poems and suddenly I met with a phrase that I like to reproduce today here. 

I like to do so because it speaks about a part of my life.

I think no one could say it better, because Mario has simplicity and deepness.

And here it is:

 “They didn’t have a happy end but they smiled all the hours they spent together... only for that, it was worthwhile.”  - Mario Benedetti

 It is also a way of leaving the past behind.

Milton W. Hourcade