Poetic Obituaries: As well as writing hundreds of poems

in the fifties he [José Antonio Labordeta] also brought poetry to other areas of life which mattered to him; in his music where he sang the word of socialism, freedom and anti-fascism; to his students as a professor, and to politics where he once read a poem in parliament opposing the participation of Spanish forces in the war on Iraq.

In his later life, he went from being--in his own words--a "rookie" member of parliament to become a significant character of the political scene (his nickname, which he eventually came to appreciate--was "El Abuelo" or the Grandfather).

from Though Cowards Flinch: José Antonio Labordeta (1935--2010)

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