Born in Chile in 1904, Pablo Neruda first won recognition as a poet at the age of sixteen. Beginning in the twenties, the Chilean government sent him on a series of consular missions. His active role in radical politics from 1936 on resulted in conflict with the government, expulsion, and exile. He returned to Chile in 1953, enveloped in a cloud of political controversy, but firmly established as one of the two or three leading poets of Latin America. This selection, with facing Spanish texts, covers the period from 1925 through 1960 and includes poems the three series of "Residencia en la tierra", "Canto general", three books of "Odes", "Navegaciones y regresos" and "Estravagario" -- clearly showing the scope of Neruda's writing from the polemical and affirmative to the most surreal, irrational, and hermetic. The penetrating Introduction by Luis Monguió thoroughly discusses Neruda's position in both literature and politics, and Ben Belitt's Foreword explores Neruda's style and poetics. -- Publisher's description.

Introduction /Luis Monguió -- Translator's foreword / Ben Belitt -- Toward an impure poetry / Pablo Neruda -- Residencia en la tierra / Residence on Earth (1925-1931) -- Caballo de los sueños / Dream horse -- Sabor / Savor -- Fantasma / Fictino -- Colección nocturna / Nocturnal collection -- Arte poética / Ars poetica -- Comunicaciones desmentidas / Falsified documents -- Entierro en el este / Burial in the East -- Caballero solo / Gentleman alone -- Ritual de mis piernas / Ritual of my legs -- Significa sombras / Signifying shadows -- Walking around -- Oda con un lamento / Ode with a lament -- Tres cantos materiales / Three material songs -- Apogeo del apio / Apogee of celery -- Alberto Rojas Jiménez viene volando / Alberto Rojas Jiménez comes flying -- No hay olvido : Sonata / There's no forgetting : Sonata -- Las furias y las penas / The woes and the furies -- Explico algunas cosas / A few things explained -- Cómo era España / How Spain was -- Canto general / General song (1950) -- Algunas bestias / Some beasts -- Alturas de Macchu Picchu / The heights of Macchu Picchu -- La poderosa muerte / Death, overmastering all -- No eres tú, muerte grave / Not feathered with iron -- Muertos de un solo abismo / O you dead of a common abysm -- Duerme un soldado / Soldier asleep -- El corazón magallánico (1519) / The heart of Magellan -- Los poetas celestes / Poets Celestial -- Procesión en Lima : 1947 / Procession in Lima : 1947 -- La United Fruit Co. / The United Fruit Co. -- Los mendigos / The beggars -- Un asesino duerme / Sleeping assassin -- Juventud / Youth -- Los dictadores / The dictators -- Hambre en el sur / Hunger in the south -- Quiero volver al sur : 1941 / I want to go south again : 1941 -- Jinete en la lluvia / Horseman in rain -- Cristóbal Miranda -- Hacia los minerales / Toward mineral -- El poeta / The poet -- El gran océano / Open sea -- Leviathan -- Los enigmas / The enigmas -- Odas elementales / Elemental odes (1954-1957) -- Oda a la alcachofa / Artichoke -- Oda a un reloj en la noche / A watch in the night -- Oda al niño de la liebre / Boy with a hare -- Oda al olor de la leña / A smell of cordwood -- Oda al aceite / In praise of oil -- Oda a pies de fuego / You flame-foot! -- Oda al buzo / Diver -- Oda al limón / Lemon -- Oda al doble otoño / Double autumn -- Oda a la pantera negra / Black pantheress -- Oda a la jardinera / Girl gardening -- Oda a la luz marina / A light from the sea -- Oda al viejo poeta / Poet grown old -- Navegaciones y regresos / Voyages and homecomings (1959) -- Oda a las cosa rotas / Things breaking -- Oda al piano / Piano -- Oda al gato / Cat -- Oda al elefante / Elephant -- Estravagario / Book of vagaries (1958) -- Las viejas del océano / Old women by the sea -- Estación inmóvil / Stationary point -- Pastoral -- V. -- Sonata con algunos pinos / Sonata with some pines -- Selected bibliography.

Aiso Library Poetry month selection