The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems (Bilingual Edition)

"I became saturated with his poetry and began to translate his poems. Although there were many beautiful existing translations, many others did not flow as I felt they should and I often had interpretive differences with them." ~ Mark Eisner, translator "The Essential Neruda Selected Poems" is the best translation I've read so far. The words are alive with beauty in a way that feels authentic to the heart. You can immerse yourself in the poems and emerge with a sense of wonder. "Leaning into the evenings I throw my sad nets to your ocean eyes." Mark Eisner has captured the soul of Pablo Neruda's art and perhaps even enhanced the creative majesty of each poem. At times the poems can make you feel a little breathless as if you have happened upon a new discovery or secret revelation. "And the air came in with orange-blossom fingers over all those asleep: a thousand years of air, months, weeks of air, of blue wind, of iron cordillera, that were like soft hurricanes of footsteps polishing the lonely boundary of the stone." The imagery is at times so vivid, as if you were transported to each scene. Pictures flash across your mind and you can almost catch the scent of the ocean or see the colors vivid and pure. Angels and death dance through the poems with equal ease and at times the words are heavenly or earthy and dark. "Full woman, carnal apple, hot moon, thick smell of seaweed, crushed mud and light, what obscure clarity opens between your columns? What ancient night does man touch with his senses?" If you are new to the poems of Pablo Neruda then this would be an excellent place to start. The poems present many facets of the poet unlike other books that simply reveal his romantic nature. While I seem to enjoy his love poems best, I can say that this experience gives a more wide-ranging portrait of Pablo Neruda. ~The Rebecca Review

A beautiful and broad collection of his poems, from love to workers' rights.... "On our earth, before writing was invented, before the printing press was invented, poetry flourished. That is why we know that poetry is like bread; it should be shared by all, by scholars and by peasants, by all our vast, incredible, extraordinary family of humanity." Pablo Neruda I Like You When You're Quiet I like it when you're quiet. It's as if you weren't here now, and you heard me from a distance, and my voice couldn't reach you. It's as if your eyes had flown away from you, and as if your mouth were closed because I leaned to kiss you. Just as all living things are filled with my soul, you emerge from all living things filled with the soul of me. It's as if, a butterfly in dreams, you were my soul, and as if you were the soul's word, melancholy. RH (7) The title of "Essential Neruda" is apt in this collection not just for the beautiful and passionate love poetry that draws us initially to Neruda's works, but the love expanded into all of one's fellow men, especially the poor and working classes, and even those imprisoned. I wish that more poets took up the "Poet's Obligation". To whomever is not listening to the sea this Friday morning, to whomever is cooped up in house or office, factory or woman or street or mine or harsh prison cell: to him I come, and, without speaking or looking, I arrive and open the door of his prison, and a vibration starts up, vague and insistent, a great fragment of thunder sets in motion the rumble of the planet and the foam, the raucous rivers of the ocean flood, the star vibrates swiftly in its corona, and the sea is beating, dying and continuing. AR 145 I have used the translation of "United Fruit" in my classes, and I think that one cannot teach the essence of Neruda without works like these. It is a work you will read and revisit again and again.

There’s a reason why Pablo Neruda won the Nobel Prize in Literature and was so beloved in his home country. His poems are sweet and funny and approachable and memorable. This Spanish/English translation with the 2 versions printed on opposite pages is really helping me in my journey to become more fluent in Spanish.

My husband is a linguist, and one of the things he suggested I do while learning Spanish is memorize various items -- stories, poems, songs -- that I can say to myself whenever I like. Other than "practice the verbs!" this has been the best language advice I've ever received. It helps me with pronunciation, understanding, fluency -- and, as a major side benefit, I have great pastimes for when I'm waiting in line, or stuck somewhere without a book. "The Essential Neruda" is a goldmine of beautiful pieces, and most anyone will be able to find a poem that appeals to them enough to learn by heart. "Oda al Libro (II)" is one of my favorites, and it has helped me learn and retain the meanings of several great words. Side-by-side bilingual texts like this one also serve as terrific motivators for language learners because as we grow in skill and are able to read in both languages, we can evaluate the translators' work and notice where certain nuances and meanings are lost in the shift from one language to another. Being able to understand a writer like Neruda in his original language is a glorious treat!

My first language is English and my second one is Spanish. I find this book helpful to pick up more Spanish words. It is written in a way that makes it comfortable whether you are confident with both languages or not. I also love the poetry because it evokes beautiful feelings. This is a great book for many reasons; it arrives in perfect condition, it is a helpful tool for those learning a language and it simply is a good read.

I am not a Neruda expert. I bought this book so I could get familiar with his work in both languages and grow an appreciation or opinion of his work. I certainly do have an appreciation now. Each work is in English and Spanish. Even in English translations, his work is really beautiful. I am so glad I will have this in my home to pick up at leisure. I am sure there are greater, more complete selections out there, but this feels like a nice selection for a taste. I took off one star because of thinking there could be more of his work in there, but this is still a great book.

If you love Neruda's poems or just discovering him, this collection of his poems is excellent. Highly recommend!

Poetry is similar to other art in that it is very subjective; either you like it or not. But Pablo Neurda's poetry excels in so many ways, and this dual translation of Spanish to English helps the reader to enter into the special world contained within the lines of Neurda's poems. I highly recommend this selection of poems to the would-be reader!