Winter Garden (Spanish and English Edition) [Paperback]

Pablo Neruda (Author), William O'Daly (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1986

Nobel Laureate Pablo Neruda explored many schools of thought, poetic styles, and voices, but his passion lay in finding and improvising upon basic rhythms of perception to reveal unspoken and unspeakable truths. Copper Canyon Press has published seven volumes of Neruda's poetry. Six volumes were translated by William O'Daly and one volume of poems was translated by James Nolan.

"A devastating sequence of poems...translated into a beautiful, hypnotic English."-Bloomsbury Review

"Here, as in much of Neruda's poetry, the personal and political collide, driven by his overriding concern: how does one person-a writer-change the world? His poems always plumb the unfathomable ambiguities of life, surfacing, finally, with a kind of balanced appreciation for the knowable as well as the mysterious"-Library Journal

Other titles by Pablo Neruda available from Consortium:
The Book of Questions (Copper Canyon Press), 1-55659-041-5 PB 1-55659-040-7 HC
Ceremonial Songs (Latin American Literary Review Press), 0-935480-80-3 PB
Neruda at Isla Negra (White Pine Press), 1-877727-83-0 PB
Neruda's Garden (Latin American Literary Review Press), 0-935480-68-4 PB
The Sea and the Bells (Copper Canyon Press), 1-55659-019-9 PB
The Separate Rose (Copper Canyon Press), 0-914742-88-4 PB
Still Another Day (Copper Canyon Press), 0-914742-77-9 PB
Stones of the Sky (Copper Canyon Press), 1-55659-007-5 PB 1-55659-006-7 HC
Windows That Open Inward (White Pine Press), 1-877727-89-X PB
Yellow Heart, (Copper Canyon Press), 1-55659-029-6 PB

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The passing reference in "Gautama Christ" to Richard Nixon and napalm is a rare reminder of the fate of the Nobel laureate, who died during the 1973 coup in Chile that overthrew President Salvador Allende and brought General Pinochet to power. Otherwise, these poems are elegantly timeless and fresh. A poet torn between the joys of solitude and his sense of duty as a spokesman for humanity, Neruda raises his voice in praise of the "common virtues," modesty, the obscurity and nobility of the unknown citizen: "It smells good to turn our face/ only in the direction of purity." At the same time, few poets in any language have written more moving hymns to Mother Earth and the beauty of her seasons. Although the musicality of Neruda's softly liquid Spanish is ineluctably lost in translation, O'Daly has made a noble effort to retain both the literal sense of the poet's words and his awe-inspiring tone. This is the third in a series of translations of the poet's final eight volumes, which remained unpublished at his death and only now are being brought into English.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

On his death in September 1973, Chilean Nobel laureate Neruda left eight unpublished manuscripts on his desk, this work among them. Here, as in much of Neruda's poetry, the personal and the political collide, driven by his overriding concern: how does one persona writerchange the world? His poems always plumb the unfathomable ambiguities of life, surfacing, finally, with a kind of balanced appreciation for the knowable as well as the mysterious. Neruda plumbs his own depths, too: "I face the emptiness I am." Yet he is also capable of soaring, of recognizing the connectedness of all things: "Why describe your truth/ if I lived with them,/ I am everybody and every time. . . ." Highly recommended for foreign language and contemporary literature collections. Thom Tammaro, Multidisciplinary Studies Dept., Moorhead State Univ., Minn.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Copper Canyon Press; 1st edition (December 1, 1986)
• Language: Spanish, English
• ISBN-10: 0914742930
• ISBN-13: 978-0914742937
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,538,047 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

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A work of introspective beauty, January 2, 2001

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Winter Garden (Spanish and English Edition) (Paperback)

"Winter Garden" is one of several posthumously published volumes of poetry by Pablo Neruda, who died in 1973. This volume is a thoughtful, and frequently melancholy, collection by the great Chilean poet. William O'Daly has translated the poems into a smooth, graceful English. Although I don't believe that "Winter Garden" is quite in the same league as Neruda's greatest works, it is still a deeply moving work that is graced by passages of transcendent beauty.

In this collection of short poems Neruda writes about love, death, nature, and other topics. The natural world is a particularly rich presence: fields, apple trees, Andean snow, "the coasts of Chile," birds in flight, and more appear throughout the book.

Neruda is particularly moving when reflecting upon his lifelong quest to fulfil the poet's duty. It is heartbreaking when he laments, "I didn't have enough time or ink for everyone" and asks forgiveness "from anyone not here" (in the poem "For All to Know"). If you have been moved by the other great works of Neruda, or if you simply appreciate beautiful and emotionally rich poetry, you will want to read "Winter Garden."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Meditative and Meaningful, June 23, 2010

By 

Amy Henry (Nipomo, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Winter Garden (A Kagean Book) (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

Pablo Neruda has some pretty big achievements: Chile's ambassador to France, a Nobel Prize for Literature, and this particular title receiving Bloomsbury's Book of the Year. His life could never be described as dull...he's certainly not your stereotypical poet, pale and anguished, hidden away and perfecting his verse. Neruda was out and active in life. A Chilean Senator, various worldwide diplomatic assignments, plus a commentator on the activities in Chilean politics....he was never still.

This beautiful collection, translated by William O'Daly, was written shortly before his death. In fact, several manuscripts were found on his desk after he died of cancer in 1973. The translator notes in the introduction that Chile was always his beloved home, one that he thought of in any other location he found himself. This fits with what Neruda says in "Many Thanks": "Why do I live exiled from the shine of the oranges?"

He knew he was dying but never does he descend into self-pity or maudlin reveries. He acknowledges the big life he led, and in his final days he wants to simply meditate, focus on the simpler things (like a bird that approaches him as he sits outside alone), and retrieve the fondest of his memories.

In "Modestly", he uses a play on the words 'see' and 'sea':
Without doubt I praise the wild excellence,
the old-fashioned reverence, the natural see,
the economy of sublime truths that cling
to rock upon rock in succeeding generations,
like certain mollusks who conquered the sea.

He shows some humor in "For All to Know", when he acknowledges that he's sometimes asked why he didn't write about some significant events. His response:
"I didn't have enough time or ink for everyone....I didn't decipher it, I couldn't grasp each and every meaning: I ask forgiveness from anyone not here."

The most poignant poem of all is "In Memory of Manuel and Benjamin", two close friends of his, who unimaginably die on the same day by accidents. Neruda is genuinely perplexed at the loss: both were friends but they couldn't have been more different and while words were his voice, he finds it difficult to compose anything to make sense of it:

I loved my two contrary friends
who, with their silence, left me speechless
without knowing what to think or say.
So much searching under the skin
and so much walking among souls and roots
hour by hour so much pecking at paper.

Even if they didn't have the time to grow tired,
now quiet and finally solemn,
they enter, pressed together, the vast silence
that will slowly grind down their frames.

Tears were never invented for those men.


Given his impending death, late in life, it's easy to see how pained Neruda was. This collection features many personal thoughts, among them his eager wish not to be praised or to receive accolades in his late days. He wants to watch water through windows and see the sunrise. He's gracious and brave.

This book is part of a series by Copper Canyon Press of Neruda's works, translated by O'Daly from the Spanish (which is still featured in the left facing pages).

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even approaching death..., September 16, 2007

By 

mandy (TN) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Winter Garden (A Kagean Book) (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

Pablo Neruda is by far, my favorite poet. I must admit that I have not read his more political poetry, I'm more a fan of the love stuff. But, this book includes a little bit of both. Mostly, however, it is a book about life and how he has lived it, what has touched him, aside from Matilde. Wonderful.