Customer Reviews

The Heights of Macchu Picchu: A Bilingual Edition (English and Spanish Edition)

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4 star:		(1)
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Pablo Neruda must have written a thousand gorgeous and soul-shaking poems on everything from socks to multinational corporations, but in my (limited) experience, this is his most amazing work. He threads together a wide scope of metaphors-- corn, gloves, roses, lightning, streams, autobuses--as he searches through life for meaning and truth. Sounds like a worn-out, pretentious topic? Think again...Neruda doesn't indulge in philosophical navel-gazing, but delves into the most earthy, mundane, yet painful details of life in his quest. He encounters not a simple answer but the revelation of past tragedy, and a role for himself in bringing about the truth of justice. The poem's beauty may not hit like lightning at first--it must be absorbed bit by bit.

Although I must have read Poem 10 (Antigua America, novia sumergida) fifty times, it always sends chills down my spine and sends me thousands of feet high into the Andes. The Heights of Macchu Picchu has comforted me when I felt lonely, helped me write my college essays, and helped me see my future plans as worthwhile instead of idealistic mush. Anyone concerned with the history of Latin America, social justice, nature, or the works of Neruda should read this poem.

What is the deal here? One of the great works by one of the great poets of the modern era and there is one review here? Neruda is to poetry what Marquez is to fiction. Superb insight, irony, metaphor, symbolism, etc. etc. combined with mastery of language (a universal language that does not depend upon a translator's skill). By God, if anyone stumbles across this title by mistake (as apparently that's the only way it's going to make itself known) BUY THIS BOOK! It will change the way you read poetry. Is Neruda out of fashion? That's like saying Voltaire or Dostoevsky are out of fashion. If you love literature, shell out the money for this volume or go to your local library and hope they have it. All you Bukowski lovers and avante-garde wannabe's. This is the father of your sect. He had more command of imagery in the tip of his finger than any beat poet or other poseur that's come along in the past 50 years.

When I first read Nathaniel Tarn's translation of Pablo Neruda's great poem "The Heights of Macchu Picchu," I was literally stunned. My immediate thoughts were two: incredulity that I had never encountered this masterpiece before, and an overwhelming desire to share it with as many people as I could.

Such is the power of this book. The poem, inspired by the great Chilean poet's visit to the ancient, abandoned city of Macchu Picchu, is presented in a bilingual format; Neruda's Spanish original faces Tarn's English on each two-page spread.

"The Heights of Macchu Picchu" contains lines of poetic language that are both beautiful and thought-provoking. But equally intrinsic to this great work is the author's compassion for the human condition--a compassion which transcends the boundaries of time and culture. Neruda's passionate addresses to the men and women who shed their blood and their tears in the construction of this ancient stone city nearly had me in tears myself.

This is one of those remarkable poems which is pregnant with the fire of prophecy; it reads like a sacred text for the modern age. Neruda's miniature epic is, I believe, one of those works which will abide as a monument of global literature. It is a gift for the entire human family.

Pablo Neruda, born in Chile 1904, is one of the greatest Latin American Poets to have livedwas one of Latin Americas greatest poets.

The Heights of Macchu Picchu (considered by some to be his finest poem) was inspired by his journey to this famed ruined Peruvian Inca city. These poems take on a progressive journey within both the past of Latin America and the roots of the poet himself.

Lovers and devoted students of poetry will be caught up in Neruda's poetic power, hopefully capturing the quintessence of this great poets mind. Others, like myself, who are occasional readers of poetry, may need to reread his words, but, through the rereading, Neruda's own spirit will descend into you mind.

Pablo Neruda speaks to the heart and struggle of us all, as he writes, "How many times in wintry streets, or in a bus, a boat a dusk,.... in the very lair of human pleasure, have I wanted to pause and look for the eternal, unfathomable truth's filament I'd fingered once in stone, or in the flash of a kiss released." Highly Recommended.

Every review here mentions the spectacular nature of Neruda's captivating poem. As he said himself, he follows the philosophy of Rimbaud and arms himself with a "burning patience" that allows him to "enter splendid cities." However, the translation falls short of the quality of Neruda's words. Tarn inserts his own interpretations/images in his word choice which result in the creation of a new poem--ocassionally distant or discordant with the original. (quick example: in Canto XII, Neruda twice uses the word "río" in one of many instances of repetition in the poem. Tarn replaces the first use with "torrent" and the second with "Amazon." He effectively removed Neruda's use of repetition and inserted a proper noun which carries with it connotations perhaps not intended by Neruda. This is merely one of many instances where Tarn's translation subtly, but importantly changes the poem's meaning). However, if you are a lover of Neruda poems and have a reasonable grasp of Spanish, this is an essential for your collection.

6 stars for the poem, 2 for the translation = overall score of 4 stars

I don't really feel it is necessary to add my humble opinion about Neruda, his poetry, or this particular collection of poems. If you are even considering purchasing this book, then you are on the right track. I would, however, like to add a few comments about this particular edition.

I was somewhat confused because one reviewer stated the book was only in English, although the book claims to be a bilingual edition. I purchased it anyway due to the difficutly in general of finding some Spanish language literature in this country, and even on this site, with the intention to return it if it was only in English. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find it was indeed a bilingual edition. The cover art is quite different on the copy I received - just an observation.

If you are buying this book for the original Spanish version, then I can highly recommend this book. However, I must agree with several other reviewers as to the quality of the English translation. Honestly, and I hate to say it, but it is terrible. I realize that translating great poetry is a formidable task, and that certain license may need to be taken, but I have many other bilingual poetry editions (in several other languages as well) where the English versions are faithful to the original and yet beautiful in their own right, and where I have even felt occasionally that a reading of the English version can actually enhance the overall experience of the poem. This is definitely not the case with this translation. After reading the Spanish, I would find myself peeking over at the English, and thinking to myself, "What on earth was Tarn thinking?" Some of the liberties Tarn has taken... At one point, I seriously felt like taking a Sharpie to the English versions to obliterate them entirely. Realizing that this was probably a little extreme, and would certainly destroy the Spanish poetry on the other side of the paper, I have settled on making copies of the Spanish versions and putting them in a notebook so as to avoid the English versions entirely. I realize this may sound extreme, but only if you have not read the translations. Even if your Spanish is intermediate, you would probably be better off with this book (or a Spanish only version if you can find one) and a good dictionary.

All of that having been said, the introduction is adequate. And, of course, Neruda is remarkable.

I printed this book in 1986 in Bandon, Oregon using a Vandercook Universal #3 Press, Lutetia type from Harold Berliner's Typefoundry on Arches laid paper.

There are several inaccurate assumptions in the reviews here. Most importantly, this is not a Tarn translation. It is by the poet David Young, editor of Field Magazine at Oberlin College. His translations of Rilke are equally stunning.

This is an English only edition: Farrar, Straus & Giroux owns ALL English versions of Neruda published in English (or did so at that time) and the Neruda Estate owned the Spanish. It took 18 months to receive permission for 155 editions of the English and the Spanish permissions were far more daunting.

The binding was done by Greg Campbell at Campbell-Logan Bindery in St. Paul, Minn. I used green Roma paper over boards with red cloth 1/4 bound spine.

The full page line drawing of the condor was done by Jack Schroeder, a well known artist from the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I asked him to draw the condor as if embracing the sense of "sloping height", and "Incan priest." I think he accomplished it well.

I hope this helps and falls within Amazon's guidelines

Neruda is easily one of the 20th centuries greatest poets. The Heights of Macchu Picchu is an excellent poem (Tarn's translation is a good one). It weakens a bit towards the end, but the first 2/3 of the poems is wonderful stuff. And Robert Pring-Mill prefaces this edition with a great essay that really takes you into the meaning of Neruda's poem.

incredible, just incredible.feeling that your mind and your hearth are in touch with ancient lifes.the summit.neruda can make you climb to heights of that incledible ruins in peru.