I didn't particularly enjoy Neruda's work. Something that specifically made me shy away from Neruda is that he didn't seem to write poetry. He seemed as rather someone possessed by politics and that didn't add to his art.

Re-read Neruda recently. Only poets like him can articulate feelings so well. "I loved her, and sometimes, she loved me too. I no longer love her, that's for certain. But maybe I do."

I made good use of my personal policy to quit after 100 pages if I don't want to keep reading at that point. Prior to receiving this book, I was only familiar with one Pablo Neruda poem: Morning Sonnet XVII from One Hundred Love Sonnets. I really liked it and thought I would enjoy more of his work. Evidently I was wrong. Let me paint for you the picture of my reading experience:
The table of contents is 25 pages long. I start at the beginning, since the first collection of poems, Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair sounds like it might have the poem in it I liked before and I'm a "begin at the beginning" kind of person. It's not there. Some poems were skipped, was this one of them or is it just going to show up later? No big deal, I'll just keep reading. I like poetry. Except Neruda's vision of romance is dark and violent, the poems are all impenetrable globs of metaphor and ashes and with each successive poem it became a little harder to force myself to keep reading. Nothing was enjoyable or even comprehensible, despite going back over several poems several times to see if they made more sense after a second or third reading. They don't. At least not to me. After I hit 100 pages I went back to the table of contents, a novella in its own right, and looked through it for another section where Morning Sonnet XVII might be. I found it! I read it! I didn't like it.
So I gave up. If you like dark and complicated poetry I definitely recommend Pablo Neruda. In fact, I've got a a book you can have.

This was a lot for me. Though I enjoy the occasional poem (especially as a quote at the start of a story or chapter), 1000 pages was just too much for a single volume for me. I know that I got impatient because I love the continuity of a narrative, but his poetry is so stirring and picturesque I can forgive Neruda. Smaller poetry doses moving forward.

Added because of Steve's ravishing review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Again, I am shattered.

Neruda, you puddle of despair and love.... you dog.

შობას გილოცავთ!

"I want
To do with you what spring does with the cherry trees."

წამიკითხავს ლორკაც, ასტურიასიც და სხვებიც, თუმცა ნერუდა უდავოდ საუკეთესო გამოცდილება იყო მათ შორის და შემიძლია დარწმუნებით ვთქვა, რომ არასდროს მიმიღია პოეზიისგან მსგავსი სიამოვნება. პაბლოს ლექსების წაკითხვის შემდეგ, კიდევ უფრო დავრწმუნდი თავის მხრივ ბოლანიოს გენიალურობაში, რომელიც თავის რომანში ერთი სცენით უზუსტესად ხატავს ნერუდას სამყაროს და მართალაც, კითხვის პროცესში შთაბეჭდილება გრჩება, თითქოს პაბლოს ლექსები უბრალოდ მთვარერსთან ყოველღამეული საუბრის შემდეგ თავისით დაიწერა. ხალხის პოეტია, წერს მარტივად და ლამაზად, მეტწილად სიყვარულზე და სიდუხჭირეზე. უბრალოდ გენიალურია.

აქვე, რამდენიმე ლექსის განსხვავებულ თარგმანებს ვეძებდი ინგლისურ ენაზე და სანამ ქუორაზე პერსონალური თარგმანები არ ვნახე, მანამ ვერ მივაგენი. ინგლისურენოვანი სამყარო დიდად არ არის ლიტერატურასთან ახლოს და მითუმეტეს ინგლისური ენა პოეზიასთან, განსხვავებით ქართულისგან, რაშიც კიდევ ერთხელ დავრწმუნდი, როდესაც ნერუდას ერთ ლექსს სამ სხვადასხვა ქართულ ვებ-გვერდზე გადავაწყდი, სამი სრულიად განსხვავებული თარგმანით. ეგეც დავაფასოთ.

"As if you were on fire from within.
The moon lives in the lining of your skin."

A friend of mine composes songs on piano with Pablo Neruda's poems as lyrics and listening to his songs I became intrigued with Pablo Neruda. I'm yet to read more of his work but the little I have read (and heard) has been promising.

It's Pablo fucking Neruda. What else needs to be said? Solid gold, gorgeous, and emotionally provocative from cover to cover.

have to reread that one with more backround info about the political climate of the times

I read as many as I could but certainly not all. I appreciate that poetry can be a beautiful form of art, and I also know that I don't particularly care for it. I struggle, but I try. Sometimes.

Como parte de las ediciones conmemorativas que la RAE y la ASALE presentan bajo el sello de alfaguara (ya reseñé antes Don Quijote en esta misma colección) tenemos una antología general del gran poeta chileno Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto.

Edición de altísima calidad cuya antología fue compilada por Hernán Loyola que organiza la obra de Neruda en 12 capítulos, divididos de forma cronológica e incluyendo una guía previa que sirve para explicar las etapas creativas del autor.
Los poemas tienen fecha, título, lugar de composición y también se intercalan algunos epistolarios.

Además se incluyen prólogos y estudios realizados por Jorge Edwards, Alain Sicard, Selena Millares, entre otros.
Así mismo está el glosario que sirve de apoyo al lector con los chilenismos y palabras rebuscadas.
La edición reúne las publicaciones pero también aquellos textos encontrados en los cuadernos del adolescente Neftalí Reyes que muestran rasgos tempranos de su talento e influencias (Quevedo, Góngora, etc.)

Como ya sabemos se trata de uno de los poetas más aclamados del siglo XX y para muchos uno de los más grandes de la historia.
Honoris causa por la universidad de Oxford y uno de los dos poetas chilenos premiados con el nobel de literatura, por mencionar algunos de sus logros.

Personaje que además trasciende la esfera de lo literario, ya que fue un polémico político militante del partido comunista en su país.
Marcado por los peligros de sus cargos y por el cáncer de próstata se mantuvo siempre activo en el oficio de poeta, llegando a sincronizar ambas actividades mientras su obra poética se movía de la modernidad a la posmodernidad.

Neruda recorrió el mundo y fue cercano a otros grandes de la poesía en español como Paz, García Lorca, Rubén Darío, Vallejo y Mistral.
En su obra dedica odas al oceano, a la flora y la fauna (odas elementales), a latinoamérica (canto general), al amor, la muerte, la melancolía, al tiempo (veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada) y un largo etc.

8.6/10