Ceremonial Songs (Discoveries) [Paperback]

Pablo Neruda (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0935480803 | ISBN-13: 978-0935480801 | Publication Date: November 1, 1996

poetry, tr Maria Jacketti, bilingual edition

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Nobel laureate Neruda once said he felt as if poems just sprouted from him. Gradually, his entire poetic corpus has been sprouting up in English versions. This first-ever English appearance of these ten songs begins with the longish elegy "The Unburied Woman of Paita," in memory of Manuela Saenz, the lover of Simon Bolivar. One of the ceremonies Neruda describes is the bullfight, in which the "mountainous, opulent" bull wonders if "the new silence covering him is a genital blanket/ of ecstasy, or eternal shadow." Another poem celebrates the Uruguayan-born French writer Leautreamont, who invented "wolves to defend the light" and traveled "beyond evil?to arrive at goodness." Though this volume lacks introduction and footnotes, Neruda's stature is such that any appearance of his poetry in translation deserves to be available to all who love Latin American poetry.?Jack Shreve, Allegany Community Coll., Cumberland, Md.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

There are many extant English translations of Chilean Nobel Laureate Neruda's poetry, but none contain these resplendent sacred songs. Written more than three decades ago late in Neruda's aesthetically and politically active life, these long, operatic, and exalted poems celebrate the great mysteries of life. Neruda wrote often and passionately of the sea, mountains, sun, moon, and stars, always from unexpected perspectives. Indeed, Neruda has a surrealistic vein running, not from the brain, but directly from the heart. These poems are bold, romantic, and circular, embracing all the colors of the spiritual rainbow. Neruda leaves a reader swooning with the sublime "The Great Summer" and offers pure majesty in "Cordilleras," but he gives full voice to his convictions in "The Unburied Woman of Paita," an elegy to Manuela Saenz, Simon Bolivar's lover. He writes, "We do not go, return, or know. / With eyes closed, we simply exist." Yes, but Neruda sees the universe when he closes his eyes, and his poems make existence that much sweeter. Donna Seaman

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Product Details

• Paperback: 142 pages
• Publisher: Latin Amer Literary Review Pr (November 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0935480803
• ISBN-13: 978-0935480801
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,850,780 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pablo Neruda is regarded as the greatest Latin American poet of the 20th century. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1971, his breadth of vision and wide range of themes are extraordinary, and his work continues to inspire new generations of writers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Jacketti Shines!, April 21, 2002

By 

Patrick E. Kelley "Pat Kelley" (Greencastle, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ceremonial Songs (Discoveries) (Paperback)

Maria Jacketti, one of the finest practicing poets in America today, brings a keen eye and an even more probing heart to these translations. If you have an interest in Neruda, this book is a must. I find myself reaching for this volume of poems every few months and re-reading -- or better -- re-living them all again. It's as though this book has become a best friend who lives in another country: periodically I remember, smile, and must have a talk.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars review for pablo, May 13, 2002

By 

Renata mcneill (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ceremonial Songs (Discoveries) (Paperback)

Not one of my favorite translations. Sounds a lot better trying to read it in Spanish. It is not so much translation, but i feel there could have been a better topic or another author that could be translated.