Discover new books on Goodreads

See if your friends have read any of Mark Eisner's books

244 ratings | 9 reviews | avg rating:4.77

more photos (5)

Mark Eisner’s Followers (89)

Mark’s Bookshelves

to-read (38)
currently-reading (7)
read (272)
did-not-finish (0)
biography (4)
comps (3)
favorites (19)
forthcoming (0)
margins (1)
poetry (9)

Mark’s Friends (493)

Rohit

144 books | 822 friends

Helga Martiros

3,313 books | 1,213 friends

Barbara

15,732 books | 1,044 friends

Lauren Sapala

1,129 books | 3,583 friends

Sequoia

318 books | 1,879 friends

Natalia Sylvester

300 books | 658 friends

Mandy Partridge

1,847 books | 1,243 friends

Courtney

3,616 books | 393 friends

More friends…

Mark Eisner

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

https://www.markeisner.net/

Twitter

eizmarcos

Genre

Biography, Poetry, Literature & Fiction

Member Since

June 2007

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/eizmarcos

edit data

So thrilled and honored to to announce that Yale University Press will be publishing my current project:

Tina Modotti: Renaissance and Revolution in Mexico, 1923-1930

Coming to bookstores in 2027!

For more please visit my web site.
...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Mark Eisner questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

After having read a large helping of Neruda's poetry over the past few years, I just finished your biography and loved it. (Will write a full review soon.) I have a question: What is the source of the quote, "Podrán cortar todas las flores, pero no podrán detener la primavera"? I see it quoted a lot, and as you say it's been revived for some recent political movements, but I haven't found the source. Thank you.

Mark Eisner Robert, thank you so much for your words and your very thoughtful question/concern. You have reason to wonder its source. You weren't the only one. Lo…moreRobert, thank you so much for your words and your very thoughtful question/concern. You have reason to wonder its source. You weren't the only one. Long story short (happy to explain the long story!), now in the paperback edition (retitled: Neruda: The Biography of a Poet)-- you'll find a footnote next to that quote:

"Surprisingly, perhaps disappointingly so, this quote is actually apocryphal. Despite its popular use and consistent attribution to Neruda, there's no record of Neruda ever saying or writing it. It has actually been attributed to Ernesto "Che" Guevara."...(less)

flag

5 likes · like
Comment

Your wonderful and deeply immersive Neruda biography kept me up until 3 in the morning last night, and I am looking forward to this leisurely weekend to finish it and add it to my Neruda shelf. I was introduced to Neruda and his work by my mentor, the poet Martín Espada, when I studied with him at UMass in the mid 1990's. What was your first exposure to Neruda's poetry?

Mark Eisner Wow, Mike! Thank you. Reactions like yours show why this was all worth it, truly. And you'll see our friend Martin in the acknowledgements!

As I allud…moreWow, Mike! Thank you. Reactions like yours show why this was all worth it, truly. And you'll see our friend Martin in the acknowledgements!

As I allude to it some in the intro, I believe, I had some general exposure to him when I was in college, not really sure, but definitely when I studied abroad in Central America my junior year-- I took down a bilingual copy of Selected Poems, and just everywhere I went, his words made my experience a bit more real, his impression growing in me:

I found myself doing fieldwork in the highlands of El Salvador, observing as the National Association of Agricultural Workers helped set up coffee cooperatives among the campesinos. This was following the first rounds of land reform, two years after peace accords had ended the country’s horrific civil war. Reading Neruda’s poetry at night made the history—the human experience of it—palpably real to me. The depth and simplicity of Neruda’s portrayal of humanity in the poems hit my soul.

When I returned, I did just kind of have him and that book just up there with other favorite books for a few years after I graduated from college (Michigan) until I started backpacking around Latin America:

I headed south again, with the same weathered book in my tattered green pack. Eventually I reached Chile, that slender country sliding off toward towards Antarctica. Somehow I found myself working on a ranch in its Central Valleycentral valley, nestled between the Andes and the sea. This was certainly part of Neruda’s territory, his terroir: here grew the grapes that made his velvet red wine and the red poppies that flower in his verse.

and well, one Nerudian experience after another, and I ended up starting to do my own translations on that ranch, which eventually ended up leading to The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems, and then a small film project, and then someone asking me to write the biography!

Thank you again, Mike, for taking the time to share your thoughts. They make my heart and soul come alive. Please let me know how you find the rest of the book (and please tell others about it!)

Truly,
Mark(less)

flag

3 likes · like
Comment

See 2 answers from Mark Eisner…

Combine Editions
Mark Eisner’s books

Average rating: 4.4 · 7,239 ratings · 489 reviews · 10 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems by Pablo Neruda, Lawrence Ferlinghetti (Foreword), Robert Hass (Translator) 4.41 avg rating — 6,778 ratings — published 1979 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Resistencia: Poems of Protest and Revolution by Mark Eisner (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Tina Escaja (Editor), Julia Alvarez (Goodreads Author) (Introduction) 4.30 avg rating — 222 ratings — published 2020 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Neruda: The Biography of a Poet 4.31 avg rating — 181 ratings — published 2018 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	venture of the infinite man by Pablo Neruda, Jessica Powell (Translation), Mark Eisner (Goodreads Author) (Introduction) 3.93 avg rating — 136 ratings — published 1926 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Essential Neruda / Neruda Esencial by Pablo Neruda, Mark Eisner (Goodreads Author) (Translator) 4.71 avg rating — 7 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Caida libre/Free Fall by Tina Escaja, Mark Eisner (Goodreads Author) (Translator) 3.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2007 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	El Neruda Esencial: Poemas Seleccionados, Library Edition by Pablo Neruda, Mark Eisner (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Gerardo Prat (Narrator) liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	RESISTENCIA: POEMAS DE PROTESTA Y REVOLUCIÓN by Mark Eisner (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Tina Escaja (Editor), Julia Alvarez (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Mark Eisner…

9 posts
Mark Eisner's Blog

Celebrating the launch of RESISTENCIA! 9/13 via City Lights Books!

via Tin House Books:

"Sunday, September 13, we're delighted to launch this electrifying anthology of poems! Celebrate the arrival of RESISTENCIA: POEMS OF PROTEST AND REVOLUTION by joining us online for a celebration hosted by our friends at City Lights Bookstore!

Register here: https://redpoppy.net/events.html

Mark is Currently Reading

Mark Eisner rated a book it was amazing

Alfredo Jaar: Decolonial Time and the Aesthetics of the Unfinished

by Florencia San Martin

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Aug 06, 2026 07:15PM

Mark Eisner is currently reading

Crushing It

by Erin Becker (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

May 25, 2025 05:20PM

Mark Eisner is currently reading

Looking for Mexico: Modern Visual Culture and National Identity (e-Duke books scholarly collection.)

by John Mraz

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Apr 15, 2025 05:25AM

rss
Mark’s Recent Updates

Mark Eisner rated a book it was amazing Alfredo Jaar: Decolonial Time and the Aesthetics of the Unfinished by Florencia San Martin	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 06, 2026 07:20PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Alfredo Jaar by Florencia San Martin. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Alfredo Jaar by Florencia San Martin <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mark Eisner rated a book it was amazing Alfredo Jaar: Decolonial Time and the Aesthetics of the Unfinished by Florencia San Martin	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 06, 2026 07:17PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Alfredo Jaar by Florencia San Martin. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Alfredo Jaar by Florencia San Martin <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mark Eisner rated a book it was amazing Alfredo Jaar: Decolonial Time and the Aesthetics of the Unfinished by Florencia San Martin	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 06, 2026 07:16PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Alfredo Jaar by Florencia San Martin. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Alfredo Jaar by Florencia San Martin <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mark Eisner is now following Diana Raab Author of Writers and Their Notebooks
Jul 01, 2026 04:15AM · like
Mark Eisner rated a book it was amazing Lust by Diana Raab (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 01, 2026 04:15AM · like
Mark Eisner wants to read Dear Anais: My Life in Poems for You by Diana Raab (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 01, 2026 04:15AM · like
Mark Eisner has read Lust by Diana Raab (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 01, 2026 04:14AM · like
Mark Eisner liked a quote “Poetry is eternal graffiti written in the heart of everyone.” Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Apr 19, 2026 09:15PM · like · more quotes by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Mark Eisner liked Vsevolod’s status update Vsevolod Garchine wants to read Gel
Apr 19, 2026 09:15PM
Mark Eisner wants to read Gel by Thomas Bernhard	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 19, 2026 09:15PM · like

More of Mark's books…

Quotes by Mark Eisner (?)

“Oh, let what I am keep on existing and ceasing to exist,
and let my obedience align itself with such iron
conditions
that the quaking of deaths and of births doesn't shake
the deep place I want to reserve for myself eternally.”
― Mark Eisner, The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems

tags: poetry, poetry-quotes

1 likes

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Goodreads Librari...: removing books I didn't write from author page [done]	3	10	Jan 22, 2026 05:05PM

Mark’s Quotes

“Poetry is the shadow cast by our streetlight imaginations.”
― Lawrence Ferlinghetti

tags: lyricism, poetry

1332 likes

“Let everything happen to you
Beauty and terror
Just keep going
No feeling is final”
― Rainer Maria Rilke

tags: enjoy-life, fearlessness, live-in-the-moment

5566 likes

“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that receives it.”
― Edith Wharton

2661 likes

“Libraries, archives, and museums all find themselves at the intersection of materiality and the mystical. Perhaps this is why we’re so quiet when we enter them.”
― Jenn Shapland

tags: libraries

8 likes

“I want to live the rest of my life, however long or short, with as much sweetness as I can decently manage, loving all the people I love, and doing as much as I can of the work I still have to do. I am going to write fire until it comes out of my ears, my eyes, my noseholes--everywhere. Until it's every breath I breathe. I'm going to go out like a fucking meteor!”
― Audre Lorde

tags: dying, life, living, love, loving, motivation, motivational-quote, work, working, writing

469 likes

More of Mark’s quotes…