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some of the translations weren't so great.
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Love: Ten Poems
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Neruda's original Spanish text accompanies new English translations of ten of his love poems.
43 pages, Paperback
First published May 19,1995
This edition
- Format
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43 pages, Paperback
- Published
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January 1, 1995 by Miramax
- ISBN
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9780786881482
- ASIN
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0786881488
- Language
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English
About the author
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Pablo Neruda, born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto in 1904 in Parral, Chile, was a poet, diplomat, and politician, widely considered one of the most influential literary figures of the 20th century. From an early age, he showed a deep passion for poetry, publishing his first works as a teenager. He adopted the pen name Pablo Neruda to avoid disapproval from his father, who discouraged his literary ambitions. His breakthrough came with Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada (Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, 1924), a collection of deeply emotional and sensual poetry that gained international recognition and remains one of his most celebrated works.
Neruda's career took him beyond literature into diplomacy, a path that allowed him to travel extensively and engage with political movements around the world. Beginning in 1927, he served in various consular posts in Asia and later in Spain, where he witnessed the Spanish Civil War and became an outspoken advocate for the Republican cause. His experiences led him to embrace communism, a commitment that would shape much of his later poetry and political activism. His collection España en el corazón (Spain in Our Hearts, 1937) reflected his deep sorrow over the war and marked a shift toward politically engaged writing.
Returning to Chile, he was elected to the Senate in 1945 as a member of the Communist Party. However, his vocal opposition to the repressive policies of President Gabriel Gonzalez Videla led to his exile. During this period, he traveled through various countries, including Argentina, Mexico, and the Soviet Union, further cementing his status as a global literary and political figure. It was during these years that he wrote Canto General (1950), an epic work chronicling Latin American history and the struggles of its people.
Neruda's return to Chile in 1952 marked a new phase in his life, balancing political activity with a prolific literary output. He remained a staunch supporter of socialist ideals and later developed a close relationship with Salvador Allende, who appointed him as Chile's ambassador to France in 1970. The following year, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, recognized for the scope and impact of his poetry. His later years were marked by illness, and he died in 1973, just days after the military coup that overthrew Allende. His legacy endures, not only in his vast body of work but also in his influence on literature, political thought, and the cultural identity of Latin America.
Neruda's career took him beyond literature into diplomacy, a path that allowed him to travel extensively and engage with political movements around the world. Beginning in 1927, he served in various consular posts in Asia and later in Spain, where he witnessed the Spanish Civil War and became an outspoken advocate for the Republican cause. His experiences led him to embrace communism, a commitment that would shape much of his later poetry and political activism. His collection España en el corazón (Spain in Our Hearts, 1937) reflected his deep sorrow over the war and marked a shift toward politically engaged writing.
Returning to Chile, he was elected to the Senate in 1945 as a member of the Communist Party. However, his vocal opposition to the repressive policies of President Gabriel Gonzalez Videla led to his exile. During this period, he traveled through various countries, including Argentina, Mexico, and the Soviet Union, further cementing his status as a global literary and political figure. It was during these years that he wrote Canto General (1950), an epic work chronicling Latin American history and the struggles of its people.
Neruda's return to Chile in 1952 marked a new phase in his life, balancing political activity with a prolific literary output. He remained a staunch supporter of socialist ideals and later developed a close relationship with Salvador Allende, who appointed him as Chile's ambassador to France in 1970. The following year, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, recognized for the scope and impact of his poetry. His later years were marked by illness, and he died in 1973, just days after the military coup that overthrew Allende. His legacy endures, not only in his vast body of work but also in his influence on literature, political thought, and the cultural identity of Latin America.
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99 reviews All reviews
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It wasn't until I had finished reading this collection that I realised that there's a movie which these poems centred in. I can't say that the poems alone moved me, but after having seen the movie, I find them much more understandable and endearing. I'm not sure whether this has to do with the fact that I read them in English or the fact that I'm more a visual person.
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The first book of poems that I was able to finish because I liked it. This introduced me to the works of Pablo Neruda. Few years after I read this, my brother lent me the soundtrack of "Il Postino". I liked it so I bought my own copy that I still listen to every once in a while.
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Another great collection from my favourite poet.
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Sea to rising Seas; order to disorder- Only happen if we solve nuestro problema, our greatest problem. El Postino....After Allende, death....
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I loved the use of these poems in The Postman. My dear friend Sarah gave me this collection on my 18th birthday. I re-read them just the other day and am still awed by the beauty of Tonight I Can Write.
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Soneto XVII, one of my favorite poems since I was a teenager.
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Love: Ten Poems by Pablo Neruda is obviously a short collection but an interesting one, if only for the simple fact that the selection of poems has been dictated by cinematic choice rather than a theme or themes that the poet or editor wanted to explore.
The movie these marvellous poems feature in is The Postman (not the Kevin Costner movie) but Il Positano, an Italian film released in 1994 that I’ve decided (after reading the poems) that I must see. And whose main star Massimo Troisi postponed heart surgery to complete the film and then tragically died a day afterwards.
This is a bilingual edition that includes mention of who translated each poem. There are a total of six translators. W.S. Merwin who translated the bulk of the poems and is a wonderful poet himself. See my review of Present Company here on Goodreads. Alistair Reid who translated two and Stephen Tapscott, Donald D Walsh, Nathaniel Tarn and Ken Krobbenhoft with one each. Nine of the ten poems are hallmark Neruda, eloquent, lyrical and for me anyway visually evocative. The tenth contains the very awkard word “lengthily” and is just not up to the standard of the others. I’m blaming the translation/translator.
Favourites are - I Like For You To Be Still - “And you hear me from far away, and my voice does not reach you:
Let me come to be still in your silence.”
The mesmerising Poetry -
“...but from a street I was summoned
from the branches of night,
abruptly from the others,
among violent fires
or returning alone,
there I was without a face
and it touched me.”
And Leaning into the Afternoons...
“Leaning into the afternoons I cast my sad nets
towards your oceanic eyes.”
I am in awe. An excellent introduction to Neruda’s work. Highly recommended.
The movie these marvellous poems feature in is The Postman (not the Kevin Costner movie) but Il Positano, an Italian film released in 1994 that I’ve decided (after reading the poems) that I must see. And whose main star Massimo Troisi postponed heart surgery to complete the film and then tragically died a day afterwards.
This is a bilingual edition that includes mention of who translated each poem. There are a total of six translators. W.S. Merwin who translated the bulk of the poems and is a wonderful poet himself. See my review of Present Company here on Goodreads. Alistair Reid who translated two and Stephen Tapscott, Donald D Walsh, Nathaniel Tarn and Ken Krobbenhoft with one each. Nine of the ten poems are hallmark Neruda, eloquent, lyrical and for me anyway visually evocative. The tenth contains the very awkard word “lengthily” and is just not up to the standard of the others. I’m blaming the translation/translator.
Favourites are - I Like For You To Be Still - “And you hear me from far away, and my voice does not reach you:
Let me come to be still in your silence.”
The mesmerising Poetry -
“...but from a street I was summoned
from the branches of night,
abruptly from the others,
among violent fires
or returning alone,
there I was without a face
and it touched me.”
And Leaning into the Afternoons...
“Leaning into the afternoons I cast my sad nets
towards your oceanic eyes.”
I am in awe. An excellent introduction to Neruda’s work. Highly recommended.
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