Winter Garden

by Pablo Neruda

Book Overview

Facing death from cancer, Neruda wrote no book more direct and passionate in its language, and this translation--the first time these poems appeared in English--was cited by Bloomsbury Review as a Book of the Year and called one of the "most valuable Neruda books we have today." In this lyrical suite, the poet meditates on his imminent death, embraces solitude, and returns to nature as a source of regeneration. Bilingual with introduction.

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1556591675
• ISBN13: 9781556591679
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Copper Canyon Press
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.6" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

Even approaching death...

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.

Final Things

The poems in this volume were found in manuscript after the poet's death in 1973. For Neruda, whose poetry so often explodes with life through images of nature and man-made objects bathed in equatorial sunlight pouring from the page in a torrent of language, this volume feels more somber. The images of nature remain abundant, especially those of the sea surrounding his final home on Isla Negra. But the usual tone of a restless celebrant has been muted, replaced by a voice at once valedictory and resigned. Best of all the poet displays a humility that makes these poems moving and accessible.The subjects of the poems range from meditations on the natural world during winter, the deaths of two activist friends, and the poet's responsiblities, to reflections on the loss of a beloved dog and the poet's own impending death. Neruda's tendencies to create lists and use surrealist techniques have been tempered and integrated into the poetry, keeping them from the wearisome quality of some earlier volumes. This may be a darker book than many volumes of Nedura's verse; but, in no way depressing, Neruda's vision of final things offers comfort. In fact, though it may seem cliched to write it, these poems are truly beautiful.The edition offered here is bilingual, allowing you the chance to read Neruda directly if you know Spanish. Having no knowledge of Spanish I can only comment that O'Daly's translations are fluid and clear: an hour's steady reading, or meditations to be pondered more slowly over several days. The book itself is designed tastefully making the reading experience all the more enjoyable.

A work of introspective beauty

"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."