We specialize in hard to find items
All Categories
Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair
Share Tweet
*Price and Stocks may change without prior notice
*Packaging of actual item may differ from photo shown
- Electrical items MAY be 110 volts.
- 7 Day Return Policy
- All products are genuine and original
About Twenty Love Poems And A Song Of Despair
Product Description Published in 1924, when Pablo Neruda was only twenty years old, this striking collection of love poems has proven to be the Nobel Laureate's most popular work. The sensual imagery and heartbreaking verse have inspired lovers and lovers of poetry for nearly a century. This translation by J. Simon Harris captures the fire of the original and stays true to the poetry. This edition includes the original Spanish text of the poems on facing pages, as well as an introduction to the poet and the poems. Review "Alongside the stunning translations of J. Simon Harris, Neruda portrays human romance in all its cruel intimacy... Because of the collection's portrayal of human relationships, as well as its enchanting exploration of the correlation between love and grief, I would recommend this collection to individuals who enjoy literary fiction, poetry, and romance." - Robin Goodfellow, Readers' Favorite From the Author I was first introduced to Neruda's "Poem 20" (arguably the best poem in this collection) in high school, when I knew very little Spanish, at best. But even reading the original poem in Spanish at a level subliminal to my understanding, I was struck by how much more beautiful it sounded than the English translation (I don't know whose translation it was that I read at the time). Regardless of the quality, any translation of a great work of literature will lose something, and in this vein, if one can read Neruda in Spanish, one ought to read Neruda in Spanish; to do otherwise would be like reading Yeats in German, Shakespeare in Japanese. But those not fluent in Spanish should not be excluded from a poet as brilliant as Neruda, and my hope is that this translation will rake the reader's heart the way the original has mine. About the Author Pablo Neruda was born in 1904 in Parral, Chile, with the name Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He began using his famous pen name to escape his father's disapproval of his dream to be a poet. He was internationally recognized for his poetry even as a teenager, and today he is widely considered to be the greatest poet ever to write in Spanish. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. Neruda was also an influential diplomat and politician. He lived part of his life in exile because of his communist affiliations, and in his last years he served as an ambassador under the socialist president Salvador Allende. In 1973, Allende's government was overthrown in a military coup; only twelve days later, Neruda died of heart failure. Although he was a prolific and important writer throughout his life, Neruda's most popular work is Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, which he wrote as a teenager. It remains the best-selling book of poetry in the Spanish language. J. Simon Harris was born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, and now lives in Raleigh with his wife Ashley, their son Luke, and their dog Hallie. He moved to Raleigh in 2005 to pursue a B.A. in English and a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering at NC State University. He went on to receive a Ph.D. in Material Science at NCSU, and today he maintains a keen interest in theoretical physics and materials science. His other great passion lies in writing and translation. In addition to publishing a novel ( Lemnos), he has translated poetry from Spanish, Italian, Ancient Greek, Old English, and Provençal. His translation of Dante's Inferno in terza rima will be published in 2020. Much of his work, including excerpts, original poetry, and an ongoing translation of Homer's Iliad in dactylic hexameter, can be found on his website.
