The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems
Pablo Neruda, edited by Mark Eisner
In honor of Pablo Neruda’s 100th birthday on July 12, Mark Eisner and San Francisco’s City Lights Books have put together these new translations of some of the Chilean Nobel laureate’s most-admired poems. English translations face the Spanish originals, and the translator’s list is a who’s who of notables, including former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Haas, Jack Hirschman and John Felstiner. Though there’s always room to argue about which of Neruda’s many poems are the most essential, this book contains an excellent selection. It includes several sections of “The Heights of Macchu Picchu” and some other poems from Canto General, and his love poems also are well-represented. Such a wide sampling of Neruda in one volume makes this collection hard to top.
More Arts&Culture » In the Mix - Book
Take a Walk on the Dark Side
R. Gary Patterson’s Take a Walk on the Dark Side, a book about rock ‘n’ roll death, might better be retitled Take a Walk on the Really Dumb Side.
Published on 07.08.04
The Rest of Love
In his seventh book, poet Carl Phillips uses Greek mythology to explore the human heart and its relationship to the divine.
Published on 06.17.04
Silent Covenants
Law professor Derrick Bell, a founding scholar in the study of critical race theory, assesses the impact of Brown v. Board of Education.
Published on 06.10.04
Johnny Cash: He Walked the Line
A new quickie bio of Johnny Cash lays out the facts but fails to place them in a larger context.
Published on 05.27.04