Neruda: Selected Poems ― A Collection of Poems by a Prolific Poet (English and Spanish Edition)

It's great to have the Spanish originals next to the English translations, which are done by multiple translators who approach the Spanish-to-English conversion differently. I don't speak Spanish fluently, but I have been through several poems in this book with a Spanish speaker to get a feel for how the translations were handled. It seems some of the translators were a little more literal, while others tried to "capture the essence" of the original but maybe added a bit too much of their own perspective to the language.So, I can understand some of the negative reviews here on Amazon, but I would also point out that not all the translators in this volume are solving the problem identically. Many of the translations are just gorgeous works of poetry, and being able to read the originals really brings out what Neruda could do with the sound of language itself.I first read this book decades ago and recently re-purchased it. It began my lifelong love for Neruda's poetry. A couple decades later, and having read other translations, I feel it still makes a worthy volume on my poetry bookshelf, bringing moments of inescapable beauty to life.I would like to see some of his works better represented here. The guy wrote an entire book about rocks, for example, and that ode to the natural world is under-represented. But for someone who has never experienced this amazing poet before, this volume is a pretty incredible introduction. Neruda wrote so much that it can be a daunting challenge to pick a place to begin; but this is a really good start.Dive in and discover!

And even more, I love the message it conveys by example, for all time: that we need to be present, passionate and loving. It really needs a resurrection of its hardcover counterpart, as its an edition worth savoring for many years.

One man many poets, I am glad that I purchased the bilingual version. Reading the poems in two different languages makes the poetry much more enjoyable.

This collection, in my opinion, is the best book of Neruda's poems for readers in English. It contains the majority of his best poems, and it has a few translators (but not too many, four altogether) so we can say how different peoples interpretations read differently. That being said, these are some of the best translators of Neruda, and it has a great introduction by Alastair Reid.In addition to what it contains, the book itself is well made, a very good size and feel to it.This is one of those books I carry around with me all the time. In my opinion, Neruda is the best poet to ever live, he's addicting to read and truly a voice of the people, and this is the best volume of his work.

A beautiful and strong collection, and I agree with the other reviews: having the Spanish originals is a great thing. There is nothing like Neruda. I recommend this collection!

Love poetry at its finest and seemingly nothing was lost in the translation into English. His choice of words easily paints pictures of paradise and heavenly emotions as evidenced in his poetry series 1 to 20.

Pablo Neruda is one of the great poets of our time. The side-by-side translations are extremely helpful in grasping nuances of the Spanish text.

My favorite Neruda publication by far

Very nice. Great to see the original and the translation in parallel. The quality of the translations is very good (surprisingly so). I'm a Spanish to English translator, so am qualified to judge this.A few of the translations are, I would say, even better than the originals... which obviously shouldn't be allowed :)

Everything about this is brilliant. My first introduction to Naruda. I love it

Saw the film Neruda which inspired me to read his poems. Amazing use of language and emotion. A real poet. am reading a couple a day...

livre genial pour decouvrir la poésie magnifique de neruda , on y decouvre un homme et son ame , c'est vraiment l'un des meilleurs poétes du 20eme siécle.

やはり詩は、詩人の母国語で読みたい。詩というものが、言葉の音律と切っても切れない関係にある芸術だと痛感してから、この願いはなかなか止みがたいものとなった。　とはいえプーシキンやホメロスが読みたくても、アルファベットも分からないロシア語やギリシャ語は今のところ無理だが、スペイン語はローマ字読みだから、素人の私でも大雑把になら音読はできるはずではないか・・。　ということで、大好きな詩人パブロ・ネルーダの原詩に挑戦してみた。本書には１９２４年〜１９６７年までの詩１１７作品が収録されている。　肉感的で舞踏のような動感を持つスペイン語。体を振るわせるこの律動。能を奔る熱帯の空気。原詩で読んでみてやはりよかった。対訳になっている英語も分かりやすいので、電子辞書があれば十分意味が拾える。　　さて、収録内容であるが・・『マチュピチュ山頂』『女のからだは・・』『私は戻ってくる』のような代表作は勿論収録されているけれども、『マチュ・ピチュ山頂』は部分訳。　『樵よ目覚めよ』『ウォルト・ホイットマンの霊を呼び戻すことから始めよう』等は、目次を見た限り収録されていない。詩のタイトルは、本（訳者？）によって違うことがしばしばあるので、絶対とは言えないのだが・・。　ともあれ、ペーパーバックではあるが本の作りは良いと思う。巻末には、詩の一行目から作品が探せる索引が付いているのも親切。　他の原詩集は読んでいないので比較してレヴューできないのが申し訳ないけれど、とりあえずこの書籍は値段も廉価で、お勧めできる本だと思う。