The Poetry of Pablo Neruda » (Reprint)

When presenting the legendary Chilean poet Pablo Neruda with the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971, Karl Ragnar Gierow of the Swedish Academy proclaimed, "Neruda is like catching a condor with a butterfly net. Neruda, in a nutshell, is an unreasonable proposition: the kernel bursts the shell."

The most comprehensive English-language collection of work ever by "the greatest poet of the twentieth century—in any language" (Gabriel García Márquez)

"In his work a continent awakens to consciousness." So wrote the Swedish Academy in awarding the Nobel Prize to Pablo Neruda, the author of more than thirty-five books of poetry and one of Latin America's most revered writers, lionized during his lifetime as "the people's poet."

This selection of Neruda's poetry, the most comprehensive single volume available in English, presents nearly six hundred poems, scores of them in new and sometimes multiple translations, and many accompanied by the Spanish original. In his introduction, Ilan Stavans situates Neruda in his native milieu as well as in a contemporary English-language one, and a group of new translations by leading poets testifies to Neruda's enduring, vibrant legacy among English-speaking writers and readers today.

The Washington Post

Coinciding with this major occasion and anticipating the 100th anniversary of his birth, which will be marked this coming spring, is The Poetry of Pablo Neruda, a mammoth volume edited by Ilan Stavans, who, in the void created by the death of his compatriot Octavio Paz, has emerged as Latin America's liveliest and boldest critic and most innovative cultural enthusiast. In his introduction, Stavans states that his objective in The Poetry of Pablo Neruda "is to offer the reader an image of Neruda's entire poetic arc." To that effect, he has chosen roughly 600 poems, translated by an abundance of contributors, including Stavans himself. — Jaime Manrique

continued

XII: THE RIVERS OF SONG

I. Carta a Miguel Otero Silva, en Caracas (1949)

Letter to Miguel Otero Silva, in Caracas (1949)

V. To Miguel Hernández, Murdered in the Prisons of Spain

XIII: NEW YEAR'S CHORALE FOR THE COUNTRY IN DARKNESS

VIII. Chile's Voices XIV. I Recall the Sea XV. There's No Forgiving XVII. Happy Year to My Country in Darkness

XIV: THE GREAT OCEAN

IV. The Men and the Islands V. Rapa Nui VIII. The Oceanics IX. Antarctica XI. La muerte

Death XII. The Wave XVII. The Enigmas XXI. Leviathan XXIII. Not Only the Albatross

XIV: I AM

I. The Frontier (1904)

III. The House VI. The Traveler (1927)

VII. Far from Here X. The War (1936)

XI. Love

from THE CAPTAIN'S VERSES/

LOS VERSOS DEL CAPITÁN (1951-1952)

LOVE

In You the Earth The Queen The Potter September 8

Tus manos

Your Hands

Tu risa

Your Laughter The Fickle One The Son

THE FURIES

The Hurt

El sueño

The Dream Oblivion You Would Come

LIVES

The Mountain and the River The Flag Little America Epithalamium

La carta en el camino

Letter on the Road

from ELEMENTAL ODES/

ODAS ELEMENTALES (1952-1957)

The Invisible Man Oda a la alcachofa Ode to the Artichoke Ode to the Artichoke Oda al átomo Ode to the Atom

Oda a la crítica

Ode to Criticism

ri0Ode to Numbers Ode to the Past Ode to Laziness Ode to the Earth Ode to My Suit Ode to Sadness Ode to Wine

NEW ELEMENTAL ODES

Oda a la crítica (II)

Ode to Criticism (II)

Oda al dicdonario

Ode to the Dictionary Ode to the Seagull Ode to Firefoot

Oda a Walt Whitman

Ode to Walt Whitman

THIRD BOOK OF ODES

Ode to Bees Ode to Bicycles Ode to a Village Movie Theater Ode to Age Ode to a Stamp Album Ode to Maize Ode to the Double Autumn

Oda al viejo poeta

Ode to an Aged Poet

from EXTRAVAGARIA/

ESTRAVAGARIO (1957-1958)

To Rise to the Sky . . .

Pido silencio

I Ask for Silence I'm Asking for Silence And the City Now Has Gone Repertoire With Her Point Fear

Cuánto pasa en un día

How Much Happens in a Day Soliloquy at Twilight V

Horses We Are Many To the Foot from Its Child

Aquí vivimos

This Is Where We Live Getaway The Unhappy One Pastoral Bestiary Autumn Testament

from VOYAGES AND HOMECOMINGS/

NAVEGACIONES Y REGRESOS (1957-1959)

Ode to Things Ode to the Chair

from ONE HUNDRED LOVE SONNETS/

CIEN SONETOS DE AMOR (1957-1959)

MORNING

III

IV

IV VI

IX

IX XI XVI XVII XXVII

MIDDAY

XXXIV

XXXIV XXXIX XL XLVII

XLVIII

XLVIII L

LIII

EVENING

LV LIX LXIII

LXXVI

LXXVI

NIGHT

LXXX XC XCI XCV XCVII C

fromp0 SONG OF PROTEST/

CANCIÓN DE GESTA (1958-1968)

IV. Cuba Appears VI. Ancient History XI. Treason XII. Death XIX. To Fidel Castro XXII. So Is My Life XXVII. Caribbean Birds XXIX. No me lo pidan

Do Not Ask Me XXXV. The "Free" Press XL. Tomorrow Throughout the Caribbean

from THE STONES OF CHILE/

LAS PIEDRAS DE CHILE (1959-1961)

History The Bull Solitudes The Stones of Chile The Blind Statue

Buey

Ox Theater of the Gods

Yo volveré

I Will Return The Ship The Creation The Turtle

Las piedras y los pájaros

The Stones and the Birds

Al caminante

To the Traveler Stones for María

Nada más

Nothing More

from CEREMONIAL SONGS/

CANTOS CEREMONIALES (1959-1961)

THE UNBURIED WOMAN OF PAITA

Prologue I. The Peruvian Coast II. The Unburied Woman III. The Sea and Manuelita IV. We Will Not Find Her V. The Absent Lover VI. Portrait VII. In Vain We Search for You VIII. Material Manuela IX. The Game IX. Riddle XI. Epitaph XII. She XIII. Questions XIV. Of All Silence XV. Who Knows XVI. Exiles I Don't Understand XVII. The Loneliness XVII. The Flower XIX. Goodbye XX. The Resurrected Woman XXI. Invocation XXII. Now We Are Leaving Paita

THE BULL

I II III IV V

VI VII s22VIII IX

CORDILLERAS

I II III IV V

VI

CATACLYSM

I II III IV V

VI VII VIII IX X

XI XII XIII

LAUTRÉAMONT RECONQUISTADO

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

LAUTRÉAMONT RECONQUERED

I II III IV V

VI

OCEAN LADY

I II III IV V

VI VII VIII IX X

XI

from FULLY EMPOWERED/

PLENOS PODERES (1961-1962)

0Deber del poeta

The Poet's Obligation The Word Ocean The Sea It Is Born Planet

Serenata

Serenade To Wash a Child Ode to Ironing To the Dead Poor Man Goodbyes Spring To Don Asterio Alarcón, Clocksmith of Valparaíso The Night in Isla Negra Past

El pueblo

The People

Plenos poderes

Fully Empowered

from ISLA NEGRA/

MEMORIAL DE ISLA NEGRA (1962-1964)

I. WHERE THE RAIN IS BORN

The First Journey The Father The First Sea The South Sex

La poesía

Poetry Shyness Swan Lake The Human Condition Superstitions The Rooming House on the Calle Maruri

II. THE MOON IN THE LABYRINTH

Loves: Terusa (I)

Loves: Terusa (II)

Bread-Poetry My Crazy Friends First Travelings Opium in the East Monsoons October Fullness Lost Letters

i0III. CRUEL FIRE

Ay! Mi ciudad perdida

Oh, My Lost City

Tal vez cambié desde entonces

Perhaps I've Changed Since Then Revolutions The Unknown One Insomnia Goodbye to the Snow Tides Exilio Exile

IV. THE HUNTER AFTER ROOTS

Brother Cordillera What Is Born with Me Appointment with Winter The Hero The Forest Night Mexican Serenade Para la envidia To Envy

V. CRITICAL SONATA

Ars Magnetica To Those at Odds Day Dawns Solitude It Is Not Necessary Memory The Long Day Called Thursday What We Accept Without Wanting To

El futuro es espacio

The Future Is Space

from ART OF BIRDS/

ARTE DE PÁJAROS (1962-1965)

Migracíon

Migration

PAJARINTOS

Wandering Albatross American Kestrel Guanay Cormorant Slender-Billed Parakeet Gray Gull Magellanic Woodpecker

INTERMISSION

Chilean Lapwing Chilean Mockingbird

PAJARANTES

Dodobird

from A HOUSE IN THE SAND/

UNA CASA EN LA ARENA (1956-1966)

Amor para este libro

Love for This Book

from LA BARCAROLA/

LA BARCAROLA (1964-1967)

The Watersong Ends

from THE HANDS OF DAY/

LAS MANOS DEL DÍA (1967-1968)

I. Guilty XL. In Vietnam LVIII. El Pasado

The Past LX. Verb

from WORLD'S END/

FIN DEL MUNDO (1968-1969)

VII

The Seeker

XI

The Sadder Century

from SEAQUAKE/

MAREMOTO (1968)

Maremoto Seaquake Starfish i0Jaiva Farewell to the Offerings of the Sea

from STILL ANOTHER DAY/

AÚN (1969)

VI VII XII

XVII

XVII XX XXVIII

from THE FLAMING SWORD/

LA ESPADA ENCENDIDA (1969-1970)

XVIII. Someone

from STONES FROM THE SKY/

LAS PIEDRAS DEL CIELO (1970)

I II V

XI

XI XIII XV XIX XXIII

XXVIII

XXVIII

from BARREN TERRAIN/

GEOGRAFÍA INFRUCTUOSA (1969-1972)

Numbered

from THE SEPARATE ROSE/

LA ROSA SEPARADA (1971-1972)

Men II Men IX Men X

Los hombres XI

Men XI Men XIV

from A CALL FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF NIXON AND PRAISE FOR THE CHILEAN REVOLUTION/INCITACIÓN AL NIXONICIDIO Y ALABANZA DE LA REVOLUCIÓN CHILENA (1972-1973)

I. I Begin by Invoking Walt Whitman II. I Say Goodbye to Other Subjects V. The Judgment VII. Victory IX. I Call upon You XVIII. Come with Me XVIII. Portrait of the Man XXV. Against Death XXX. Mar y amor de Quevedo

The Sea and the Love of Quevedo XXXII. September 4, 1970

from THE SEA AND THE BELLS/

EL MAR Y LAS CAMPANAS (1971-1973)

Buscar

To Search I Am Grateful My Name Was Reyes I Will Tell You A Small Animal It Rains This Broken Bell

from 2000/

2000 (1971)

I. The Masks IV. La tierra

The Earth IX. Celebration

from ELEGY/

ELEGÍA (1971-1972)

XIV par

from THE YELLOW HEART/

EL CORAZÓN AMARILLO (1971-1972)

I Still Get Around Love Song Reject the Lightning Disasters Morning with Air

El tiempo que no se perdió

Time That Wasn't Lost Suburbs

from WINTER GARDEN/

JARDÍN DE INVIERNO (1971-1973)

The Egoist

Gautama Cristo

Gautama Christ Modestly With Quevedo, in Springtime Winter Garden In Memory of Manuel and Benjamín Animal of Light

Un perro ha muerto

A Dog Has Died La estrella The Star

from THE BOOK OF QUESTIONS/

LIBRO DE LAS PREGUNTAS (1971-1973)

I VII

IX

IX X

XI XXI

XXXIX

XXXIX XLI XLV LXV LXXII

from SELECTED FAILINGS/

DEFECTOS ESCOGIDOS (1971-1973)

Triste canción para aburrir a cualquiera

Sad Song to Bore Everyone

El Gran Orinador

The Great Urinator

HOMAGE:

FOURTEEN OTHER WAYS OF LOOKING AT PABLO NERUDA

MIGUEL ALGARÍN

Puerto Rico, Puerto Pobre [Song of Protest]

I Come from the South [Song of Protest]

APRIL BERNARD

From My Journey [The Sea and the Bells]

ROBERT BLY

I Wish the Woodcutter Would Wake Up [Canto General]

The Strike [Canto General]

Ode to the Watermelon [Voyages and Homecomings]

RAFAEL CAMPO

XLIV [One Hundred Love Sonnets]

LXVI [One Hundred Love Sonnets]

XCIV [One Hundred Love Sonnets]

MARTÍN ESPADA

The Celestial Poets [Canto General]

In Salvador, Death [Song of Protest]

Octopi [Seaquake]

EDWARD HIRSCH

Ode to the Book I [Elemental Odes]

Ode to the Book II [Elemental Odes]

JANE HIRSHFIELD

0

Ode to Time [Elemental Odes]

GALWAY KINNELL

I Explain a Few Things [Residence on Earth]

PHILIP LEVINE

Ode to Salt [Elemental Odes]

W. S. MERWIN

V. So That You Will Hear Me [Twenty Love Poems]

XVI. In My Sky at Twilight [Twenty Love Poems]

PAUL MULDOON

Ode to a Hare-Boy [Elemental Odes]

GARY SOTO

House [Ceremonial Songs]

MARK STRAND

Ode to the Smell of Firewood [New Elemental Odes]

Ode to a Pair of Socks [New Elemental Odes]

Ode to Enchanted Light [Third Book of Odes]

JAMES WRIGHT

Toussaint L'Ouverture [Canto General]

Bibliography

Spanish Editions Translations into English Biographical and Critical Works

Notes on Neruda's Life and Poetry

Acknowledgments

Index of First Lines