Twenty love poems and a song of despair
By: Pablo Neruda ; translated by W.S. Merwin.
Series: Penguin twentieth-century classics
Publisher: Penguin Books
Published: 1993
Place of publication: New York, N.Y., U.S.A
Language: eng
Number of pages: 63
Subjects: Spanish poetry
Work titles: Veinte poemas de amor y una cancion desesperada.
Notes: First published in 1924, Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada remains among Pablo Neruda’s most popular work. Daringly metaphorical and sensuous, this collection juxtaposes youthful passion with the desolation of grief. Drawn from the poet’s most intimate and personal associations, the poems combine eroticism and the natural world with the influence of expressionism and the genius of a master poet. This edition features the newly corrected original Spanish text, with masterly English translations by award-winning poet W. S. Merwin on facing pages.