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This collection of Neruda's most essential poems will prove indispensable. Selected by a team of poets and prominent Neruda scholars in both Chile and the U.S., this is a definitive selection that draws from the entire breadth and width of Neruda's various styles and themes. An impressive group of translators that includes Alistair Reid, Stephen Mitchell, Robert Hass, Stephen Kessler and Jack Hirschman, have come together to revisit or completely retranslate the poems; and a handful of previously untranslated works are included as well. This selection sets the standard for a general, high--quality introduction to Neruda's complete oeuvre.

Pablo Neruda was born in Chile in 1904. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971.

Against the backdrop of Isla Negra — the sea and wind, the white sand with its scattering of delicate wild flowers, the hot sun and salty smells of the Pacific — Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda sets these joyfully sensual poems in celebration of his love. The subject of that love: Matilde Urrutia de Neruda, the poet's "beloved wife."

As popular in the Hispanic world as the poet's renowned Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, One Hundred Love Sonnets has never before been published in its entirety in English translation. The reason for this astonishing neglect may lie in the historical circumstances that surrounded Neruda's "discovery " by English-speaking readers. In the United States he came to popularity during the turmoil of the sixties, when Americans needed a politically committed poet, and much of Neruda's canon answered that need. But, in his native Chile and throughout Latin America, Neruda has always been cherished as dearly for the earthly sensuality and eroticism of his love poetry as for his statements of political belief. To know this work, then is to understand the poet's art more thoroughly.

Pablo Neruda is one of the world's most popular poets, and The Book of Questions is Copper Canyon's all-time best-seller. This updated bilingual edition is entirely re-designed and features a new cover, new interior, and an introduction by translator.

In The Book of Questions, Neruda refuses to be corralled by the rational mind. Composed of 316 unanswerable questions, these poems integrate the wonder of a child with the experiences of an adult. By turns Orphic, comic, surreal, and poignant, Neruda's questions lead the reader beyond reason into realms of intuition and pure imagination.

Tell me, is the rose naked
or is that her only dress?
Why do trees conceal
the splendor of their roots?
Is there anything in the world sadder
than a train standing in the rain?

When Neruda died in 1973, The Book of Questions was one of eight unpublished poetry manuscripts that lay on his desk. In it, Neruda achieves a deeper vulnerability and vision than in his earlier work-and this unique book is a testament to everything that made Neruda an artist.

"Neruda's questions evoke pictures that make sense on a visual level before the reader can grasp them on a literal one. The effect is mildly dazzling [and] O'Daly's translations achieve a tone that is both meditative and spontaneous." -Publishers Weekly

Pablo Neruda, born in southern Chile, led a life charged with poetic and political activity. He was the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, the International Peace Prize, and served as Chile's ambassador to several countries, including Burma, France, and Argentina. He died in 1973.

II.

Tell me, is the rose naked
or is that her only dress?

Why do trees conceal
the splendor of their roots?

Who hears the regrets
of the thieving automobile?

Is there anything in the world sadder
than a train standing in the rain?

XIV.

And what did the rubies say
standing before the juice of pomegranates?

Why doesn't Thursday talk itself
into coming after Friday?

Who shouted with glee
when the color blue was born?

On the Blue Shore of Silence celebrates the centenary of the birth of Pablo Neruda, one of the most widely read and best-loved poets of the twentieth century.

Although anthologies of Neruda's works abound, On the Blue Shore of Silence is the first to collect some of his poems on the sea. At times passionate and at other times peaceful, the poems chosen for this collection -- presented in bilingual format -- are meant to offer readers the experience of what it would have been like to sit with Neruda at Isla Negra, the view of the sea endless, the pulse of the waves, eternal.

With English translations by his favored translator, Alastair Reid, and stunning paintings from the artist Mary Heebner, On the Blue Shore of Silence is a new cornerstone in Neruda's body of work, expertly weaving together poet, artist, and reader.

A la Orilla Azul del Silencio celebra el centenario del nacimiento de Pablo Neruda, probablemente uno de los poetasmás leídos del siglo veinte, y sin lugar a dudas, uno de los más queridos.

Aunque existe un sinnúmero de antologías de la poesía de Neruda, A la Orilla Azul del Silencio es la primera en reunir algunos de sus más bellos poemas sobre el mar. Algunas veces apasionados, otras veces serenos, los poemas de este libro -- presentado en formato bilingüe -- ofrecen al lector la posibilidad de imaginarse lo que habría sido sentarse con Neruda en Isla Negra frente al mar infinito, oyendo el eterno ir y venir de las olas.

Con traducciones al inglés hechas por Alastair Reid,su traductor predilecto, y las extraordinarias pinturas de laartista Mary Heebner, A la Orilla Azul del Silencio es un nuevo pilar de la obra de Neruda, que combina con habilidad las sensibilidades del poeta, la artista y el lector.