Twenty Love Poems: And a Song of Despair
This collection of poems, first published by Neruda at the age of 19 in 1924, caused something of a scandal because of its frank and intense sexuality: "I have gone marking the atlas of your body / with crosses of fire. / My mouth went across: a spider, trying to hide. / In you, behind you, timid, driven by thirst." It later became one of Neruda's best-loved works, selling two million copies by the 1960s. Why? With image after arresting image, Neruda charts the oceanic movements of passion, repeatedly summoning imagery of the sea and weather: "On all sides I see your waist of fog, / and your silence hunts down my afflicted hours; / my kisses anchor, and my moist desire nests / in you with your arms of transparent stone." As irresistible as the sea, love is engulfing ("You swallowed everything, like distance. / . . . In you everything sank!"), but also departs as mysteriously as it arrived, leaving the poet's heart a "pit of debris, fierce cave of the shipwrecked." These unabashedly romantic poems, wonderfully translated by Merwin, are illustrated in this edition by the paintings of Jan Thompson Dicks with aptly Fauvist tones and iconic formality. --Publishers Weekly
First published in 1924, Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada remains among Pablo Neruda’s most popular work. Daringly metaphorical and sensuous, this collection juxtaposes youthful passion with the desolation of grief. Drawn from the poet’s most intimate and personal associations, the poems combine eroticism and the natural world with the influence of expressionism and the genius of a master poet. This edition features the newly corrected original Spanish text, with masterly English translations by award-winning poet W. S. Merwin on facing pages.
Sensual words from planet earth
What other poet could possibly capture the melancholy of the ocean at night into words like Pablo Neruda. In this powerful collection Neruda strings together a necklace from the sexual, slow, sad, and rain-soaked pearls of his poetry. I recommend this book for your soul. --Reviewer: subterranean from United States
20 Love Poems and a Song of Despair is very good poetry. Neruda is very appreciative of the human form and the beauty the female body possesses. However, this is not simply erotica poetry, Neruda's use of figurative language, and skillful word selection place in a unique class of poets. His style of poetry is reminiscent of Whitman, in that both display a great love for nature and the beauty that exists amongst it. --Reviewer: Dorian Smith from Alexandria, VA United States
Pablo Neruda's poetry is among the most sensous and beautiful poetry ever written. He wrote with such passion and exquisite mastery of the language, that he is rightly considered among the best poets in the world. The imagery of his poems is strong, well-crafted...just perfect. For any romantic spirit, Neruda is a dream come true...and for us average readers, he is the poet of our hearts. --Reviewer: hermia1596 from Orange County, CA USA
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