Neruda: An Intimate Biography

A biography of the noted Chilean poet.

Table of Contents:
Translator’s Foreword Preliminary Note Part One. From Rain to War I. Frontier Boy 1. Visiting His Mother 2. Farewell to Parral 3. Return 4. A Camp City 5. His “Momother” 6. The Brusque Father 7. I Don’t Know How or When . . . 8. A Dream? 9. Childhood Friends 10. The First Poet 11. The Ostrich 12. A Boy Knocks on Gabriela’s Door 13. Stammering Poet 14. Boy and Pianos 15. His Brother’s Birthday 16. Beginnings 17. Prose Writer of Necessity? II. Twilight Youth 18. The Crazy Twenties 19. Unamuno and Patriotism’s Stockholders 20. Boardinghouses and Tenements 21. Maruri and Twilights 22. Why “Neruda”? 23. The Student 24. Friendship and Bohemia 25. Flown Away 26. Pablo de Rokha 27. The Girl from Temuco 28. Women and Their Poems 29. Incandescent Pollen 30. A Tomb for Birds 31. The Girl from Santiago 32. A Strange Violator of Secrets 33. Love and Poetry 34. The Verse Changes: The Woman Remains the Same 35. Letters as Confession and Anguish 36. The Period of the Sturgeon-thin Poet 37. Farewell 38. Crisis in Bohemia 39. The Lazy Man Who Works Like a Factory 40. Writers and Elephants 41. To the Islands 42. Departure III. Anguish and Creation in the Orient 43. Pressures from Afar 44. Responsibilities in Batavia 45. Family Letters 46. Vigils and Dreams on the Crossing 47. Solitude in Burma 48. Ambitions and Desires 49. Messages from a Castaway 50. Doubts in Rangoon 51. Realism in Residence 52. Letters from the Orient 53. Solemn Communique 54. Return to “Maligna” IV. Writing in the School of Hard Knocks 55. The Poet and the Mask 56. Song of Songs? 57. Two-man Bullfight 58. Arrival at the Main Office 59. Two Unique Consuls 60. Misfortunes 61. “Ant” or “Neighbor”? 62. Dogs and Poets 63. A Warm Welcome 64. Affinities 65. Controversies 66. Rectification 67. The Polemic over the Anthology and Tagore’s Gardener 68. A Heavyweight Fighter 69. On the Eve . . . 70. Execution in Viznar 71. Why the Change? 72. The Book on Spain 73. The Poet in the Street and a Femme Fatale 74. Literary Passions 75. President of Intellectuals 76. Water of Life and Death Part Two. Passion and Death V. His Discovery of America 77. Accursed Cities 78. Elections in Chile 79. Houses 80. Operation “Salvage” 81. The Winnipeg Adventure Continues 82. Reflection of the Spanish Experience 83. Repentance 84. Magical and Violent Country 85. Mexican Miscellany 86. Battles, Serenades, and Slashes 87. Ascent to Origins 88. Personal and Extrapersonal Meaning of Machu Picchu 89. Four Journeys 90. An Unusual Speech 91. Congressional Debut 92. The Problem of Time 93. The Honorable Mr. Reyes Praises Lucila Godoy Alcayaga 94. Pro Memoria 95. Strange Waltz 96. The Great Somersault 97. The Poet Accuses 98. Clandestine Life 99. Looking for a Way Out 100. Preparations in the Forest 101. Toward the Ends of the Earth VI. The World Voyage 102. Saint Martin of Free Men 103. The Charge to Publish the General Song 104. Parisian Debut 105. Europe Makes a Discovery 106. The Wind of the Old New World 107. Farewell to the Senate 108. Encounter with Pushkin 109. The Verse Underlined by a Young Suicide 110. Love and Phlebitis 111. Conversation with Exiles 112. Italian Interlude 113. The Two-headed Woman 114. Polygamy and Disinformation 115. Welcome at Home 116. The Intellectuals Gather 117. Joy and Sadness of SofrÉ the Bird 118. Tales and Tallies 119. The Prize Adventure 120. Donations, Foundations, and Equivocations VII. Narrator of Himself 121. Fifty Hurrahs and Two Condemnations 122. Houses and Women 123. The Breakup 124. The Invisible Man Makes an Appearance 125. The War of Less Than a Hundred Years 126. Exchanging Titles 127. Neruda Yes, Neruda No 128. Clear Days and Cloudy Ones 129. Sebastiana and Wine Pitchers 130. The Party Man 131. Epistles 132. A Forgotten Heroine 133. Earthquake in His Childhood Land 134. History’s Bearded Men 135. The Joking Bird 136. Outlines 137. Airy and Earthly Poetry 138. Mysterious Simultaneity of Ideas 139. Three-dimensional Man 140. With the Turk and the Spaniard 141. Civil Registry Official 142. The Burden of Fame 143. Summing Up and Self-analysis 144. His Companion William Shakespeare 145. Feet Blue with Cold 146. The Book of the Bountiful Table 147. Kites 148. The Impersonator 149. Paparazzi Ire at the Nuptial Hour 150. The Mythical Bandit 151. Jorge Sanhueza 152. Real Birds and Riddle Birds 153. The House with the Blue Flag 154. The Lilt of the Barcarole 155. The Mapuche Trutruca Horn and the Troubadour 156. The Shell Collector 157. A Bit of Philosophy 158. Standard Bearer 159. An Unusual Campaign 160. A Deaf Old Man with an Accordion 161. The Poet and His Century 162. Interdisciplinary Madmen 163. The City of the Caesars 164. Stones, Wait for Me! 165. Midnight Speech and Morning Conversation VIII. The Song of the Ancient Mariner 166. Upsetting News 167. The Swedish Decision 168. Flashbulb Time 169. Jubilation at Home 170. Red Corpuscles 171. Revelation 172. A Castle in the Air 173. Futurism’s Sister 174. The Albatross Country 175. Projects and Relapses 176. Araucanian Stone 177. The Cantalao Dream 178. Tapestries of the Poor 179. Revised Dedications 180. On Alert 181. The Overcoat 182. Posthumous Work 183. Memoirs and Manuscripts 184. Farewell 185. Death in the Midst of Death 186. The Errant Coffin 187. Unwelcome Visitors 188. The Cortege 189. Until We Meet Again! 190. It So Happens I Will Live On 191. Postscript of 12 July 1984 192. Six Months Later Notes Index of Names

About the Author :
Volodia Teitelboim (1916-2008) was a noted Chilean politician and lawyer, as well as the author of numerous books. Beverly J. DeLong-Tonelli is Professor Emerita of Romance Languages and Literature at California State University, Long Beach.

Review :
"Teitelboim's biography may well serve as the most important reference on Neruda's life and spirit because he maintains a historical distance between the reader and his subject. Teitelboim's Neruda is close enough to present a penetrating study of the poet, yet it is objective enough to sustain critical perspective. The book spans Neruda's career from birth until after his death, enabling the reader to glimpse the poet through the mirror of his friend." oJournal of Third World Studies