Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair Paperback – December 26, 2006

This is a really gorgeous copy of this book with beautiful translations. A great layout with the bilingual poems facing each other. A nice simple, clean format. I also like all of the details in the prologue for those who are unfamiliar with this poet’s work. I bought this for a friend as a going away present. However, I decided to order another copy for myself since it was such a nice translation.

No one has ever written poems like Pablo Neruda. At least, I've read many of the best poems in the world and no one captures my soul so completely as a romantic Neruda poem. His poems literally give me shivers they are so beautiful. He makes you feel the full depth of love and you might be shocked that these poems were published when Pablo Neruda was only twenty.There is such a mingling of nature and spirit in these poems. He says so casually: "and the leaves fell in the water of your soul." What a beautiful image but whatever does it mean? Sometimes a line of the poems will stand out but you will be mystified although captured. I also love when he says: "my heart closes like a nocturnal flower" definitely meaning something important. You can almost feel the damp earth longing for the warm rays of sun in the morning.Often these poems are better on a second or third reading. The first time you read them you may just be bowled over but the second time you may just be overwhelmed with the vocabulary. But by the third time you read them you may actually start to visualize what Pablo Neruda is saying and suddenly the whole experience starts to be more visual. I consciously try to take time to form the images in my mind which sometimes means I read the poems a bit slower.In this collection you can tell Pablo Neruda is just starting to perfect his craft. Some of the poems have words repeated four times or a phrase will be repeated again and again. The poems are not quite as finely tuned yet. But we can easily forgive him as everything else he says resonates so well with the human soul.Each poem in this collection is a different mood, yet somewhat similar in desire. In the start of this book there is not a feeling that Pablo Neruda has experienced the demolition of love but by the last two poems you know he has."Clasping my arms like a climbing plantthe leaves garnered your voice, that was slow and at peace.Bonfire of awe in which my thirst was burning.Sweet blue hyacinth twisted over my soul."(from "I Remember You As You Were")After watching "The Postman" I became interested in purchasing my first book of Pablo Neruda's poems in 2007. Needless to say I went into the experience with very high expectations. But it wasn't until 2015 (I'm editing this review) that I fully experienced these poems again. At times I was surprised by their complexity."The moon turns its clockwork dream.The biggest stars look at me with your eyes.And as I love you, the pines in the windwant to sing your name with their leaves of wire."(from "Here I Love You")I expected the poems to be less veiled in mystery and more infused with images of erotic love. Still these poems can be enjoyed for their passionate intimacy and natural sensuality. I will just say one last thing, you will never again think of cherry trees in the same way again after reading this book.~The Rebecca Review

I bought this to help with my learning spanish and it has helped so much in practicing and learning new words!

Beautiful. And I bought this used and it was just fine. Makes me feel better when I buy a used book, haha. I like to practice reading these aloud to keep up my Spanish. Bought this one since I gave (but don't know if it was even appreciated) away my copy of another Neruda volume - the bilingual version of "Love Poems" by Pablo Neruda and I loved that anyone I knew could also read it as on one page there's Spanish, and on the next, English. I also liked the size and color of that pink book.

It's a very good book

Can’t go wrong w neruda

If you're unfamiliar with Neruda, reading this book will give you a hint as to why he won a Nobel Prize. You'll also be amazed when you find he wrote it when he was 19 years old.The presentation of his poetry in this little volume is first-rate. It's printed beautifully on good paper, and the illustrations by Picasso just seem to fit.The parallel text is a welcome touch. I don't know near enough Spanish for my own good, but I can pronounce it. Reading the poems aloud in their original reveals another reason why they work so beautifully.The English translation is a rare combination of accurate and lyrical.This book, in this edition, is a rare jewel.

Kind of small …