Product Description

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. This bilingual edition of "One Hundred Love Sonnets" reproduces the text of the 1959 Spanish original en face with Stephen Tapscott's graceful English translation. Associate professor of literature at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tapscott is a widely published poet who brings to this work the sensitivity of the creative artist as well as the skills of the accomplished translator.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #100419 in Books
• Published on: 1996-12-31
• Original language: Spanish
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 232 pages

Review
"The...expressions of erotic feeling and human affection convey a warmth and immediacy that is direct, delicate, subtle, and strong by turns..." ALA Booklist

Customer Reviews

Unparalleled Beauty
"100 Love Sonnets" was my introduction to Pablo Neruda, and I have to say these are some of the most beautiful poems that I have ever read. I'm not a huge poetry fan, and so I was amazed that I read all the poems all the way through in one sitting. Anyone who has ever loved someone will feel these poems flow though their soul. Anyone who has ever tried to write a love poem, this is the standard by which they are judged.

The sonnets are presented in the original Spanish, and translated to English by Stephen Tapscott. Tapscott should be commended for translating the poems without them losing any power or beauty.

Reading these poems isn't enough, they need to be read aloud. The Spanish (even with a mangled accent like mine) is very lyrical and beautiful. I've found that reading the English, so I understand the poem better, helps me to read the Spanish with the proper passion they deserve.

If you're even the slightest bit romantic, this book should be in your home. I don't own any other poetry books, but I will never lose my copy of "100 Love Sonnets".

I wish I had bought it earlier.
I bought this book on impulse after my girlfriend and I split up. Not really being one for poetry I was struck by the power the words of Neruda can convey. He manages to put all the emotions that come when you are in love with someone into something so short as one of his sonnets. If you are in love with someone, buy this for them, read it to them in English and in Spanish and make them know you mean it. If you aren't in love with someone you will appreciate the power of that emotion. It won't save a relationship, but if you have trouble telling someone you love them, this would be a good way of showing it. I wish I had bought this for my ex and that I could read just one sonnet to her now and that she'd know that I mean it.

My review is based upon Sonnet 17.
Pablo Neruda captured the hearts of many people, especially me. I fell in love with Sonnet 17 in English class my senior year of High School. Then to hear it in one of the best movies, Patch Adams, was so incredible. It says exactly what I want to say to someone I really love but have no words for.