I Explain a Few Things

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“Laughter is the language of the soul,” Pablo Neruda said. Among the most lasting voices of the most tumultuous (in his own words, “the saddest”) century, a witness and a chronicler of its most decisive events, he is the author of more than thirty-five books of poetry and one of Latin America’s most revered writers, the emblem of the engaged poet, an artist whose heart, always with the people, is literally consumed by passion. His work, oscillating from epic meditations on politics and history to intimate reflections on animals, food, and everyday objects, is filled with humor and affection.
This bilingual selection of more than fifty of Neruda’s best poems, edited and with an introduction by the distinguished Latin American scholar Ilan Stavans and brilliantly translated by an array of well-known poets, also includes some poems previously unavailable in English. I Explain a Few Things distills the poet’s brilliance to its most essential and illuminates Neruda’s commitment to using the pen as a calibrator for his age.

Pablo Neruda (1904–73) was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1971. His books include Residence on Earth, Canto General, Extravagaria, and Isla Negra. Ilan Stavans is Lewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College.

“There is something about Neruda–about the way he glorifies experience, about the spontaneity and directness of his passion–that sets him apart from other poets . . . He is among the small group of last century’s great poets.” —Mark Strand, The New Yorker on The Poetry of Pablo Neruda“The most comprehensive single volume in English of a marvelous, inexhaustible and humane Latin-American poet, one of the 20th century’s radiant lights.” —Edward Hirsch, The Washington Post Book World, on The Poetry of Pablo Neruda

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