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.
I've made it a mission to read Neruda in his native language so that I grasp as much emotion as possible from its poetry. Needles to say it did not dissapoint. The depth, honesty and rawness of it goes beyond expectation. Love for Neruda is as natural and an primordial as nature, as the world's oldest elements.
No soy muy fan de la literatura que habla del amor romántico, no es lo mío, no consigo conectar. No obstante, Neruda es uno de los grandes poetas de nuestra literatura por algo, desprende belleza en cada verso.
Ya me gustó hace años "Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada", pero no sabía que me había gustado tanto. Yo creía que conocía "Me gustas cuando callas porque estás como ausente...", pero hay muchos más poemas suyos enganchados en mis recuerdos, que iban saliendo al paso a la vez misma que mis ojos se posaban sobre las líneas. Y tantos versos nuevos que me hacían detenerme para paladear su ritmo y su sabor. Tan vívidas imágenes, tanto sentimiento convertido en tinta, que he acabado el libro sin querer soltarlo, con ansia de más, queriendo aferrar a mis recuerdos cada palabra, para volver a disfrutarla una y otra vez. No soy consciente de que me pase con más autores. Al menos no de forma tan clara. Creo que leo a Neruda con gula.
Normalmente cuando un libro me sacude tanto, me pregunto cómo es que debo recomendarlo sin que parezca que me está dando un ataque. Gracias a libros como “Poesía de amor” y a este formato de Poesía portátil, a mis alas se le suman unos centímetros de más. Es como si de pronto mi túnel de la vida ya no fuese un túnel frío y negro, sino un amplío ecosistema de letras iluminadas por una luz demasiado perfecta.