Selected Odes of Pablo Neruda: (4 Latin American Literature and Culture)

The atom, a tuna, laziness, love-the everyday elements and essences of human experience glow in the translucent language of Neruda's odes. Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) wrote three books of odes during his lifetime. Odas elementales was published in 1954, followed in subsequent years by Nuevas odas elementales and Tercer libro de las odas. Margaret Sayers Peden's selection of odes from all three volumes, printed with the Spanish originals on facing pages, is by far the most extensive yet to appear in English. She vividly conveys the poet's vision of the realities of day-to-day life in her translations, while her brief introduction describes the genesis of the poems. To write simply of simple things was a task the poet undertook consciously, following his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, the "social conversion" that resulted from a visit to Macchu Picchu, and the writing of his epic Canto general (California, forthcoming). The odes are arranged in brief, sinuous lines that flow down the page and connect the poet to the animal, mineral, and vegetable world, to people and objects, and to the landscape of history. "Chile," Neruda once said in reference to the work of sixteenth-century poet Alonso de Ercilla, "was invented by a poet." In accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971, he declared that "We [writers from the vast expanse of America] are called upon to fill with words the confines of a mute continent, and we become drunk with the task of telling and naming." The odes reflect what Neruda saw as both an obligation and a privilege-the naming and defining of his world.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Translator's Introduction I. ELEMENTAL ODES El Hombre Invisible / The Invisible Man Oda a Ia Alcachofa / Ode to an Artichoke Oda a las Americas / Ode to the Americas Oda al Atomo / Ode to the Atom Oda a las Aves de Chile / Ode to the Birds of Chile Oda al Caldillo de Congrio / Ode to Conger Chowder Oda a una Castana en el Suelo / Ode to a Chestnut on the Ground Oda a Ia Critica / Ode to Criticism Oda al Hilo / Ode to the Thread Oda al Laboratorista / Ode to a Laboratory Technician Oda al Libro (II) / Ode to the Book (II) Oda a Ia Madera / Ode to Wood Oda a Mirar Pajaros / Ode to Bird-Watching Oda a los Numeros / Ode to Numbers Oda al Pajaro Sofre / Ode to a Saffron Finch Oda a Ia Pareja / Ode to a Couple Oda al Pasado / Ode to the Past Oda a Ia Pereza / Ode to Laziness Oda a un Reloj en Ia Noche / Ode to a Watch in the Night Oda al Tercer Dia / Ode to the Third Day Oda al Tiempo / Ode to Time Oda a Ia Tierra / Ode to the Earth Oda al Tomate / Ode to Tomatoes Oda al Traje / Ode to My Suit Oda a Ia Tristeza / Ode to Sadness Oda a Valparaiso / Ode to Valparaiso Oda a/ Verano / Ode to Summer Oda al Vino / Ode to Wine II. NEW ELEMENTAL ODES La Cas a de las Odas / The House of Odes Oda a los Calcetines / Ode to My Socks Oda al Craneo / Ode to the Cranium Oda a Ia Critica (II) / Ode to Criticism (II) Oda a Ia Cruz del Sur / Ode to the Southern Cross Oda al Diccionario / Ode to the Dictionary Oda a Don Diego de Ia Noche / Ode to a Mirabilis jalapa: The Night-Blooming Four O'Clock Oda a Ia Gaviota / Ode to the Sea Gull Oda a Ia Lagartija / Ode to the Lizard Oda a Ia Luna del Mar / Ode to the Moon of the Sea Oda a Nino de Ia Liebre / Ode to a Boy with a Hare Oda a Picafior / Ode to the Hummingbird Oda a Pies de Fuego / Ode to Firefoot III. THIRD BOOK OF ODES Odas de Todo el Mundo / Odes for Everyone Oda a Ia Abeja / Ode to Bees Oda a/ A/bani/ Tranquilo / Ode to the Gentle Bricklayer Oda a un Albatros Viajero / Ode to the Voyager Albatross Oda a/ Algarrobo Muerto / Ode to a Dead Carob Tree Oda a las Algas del Oceano / Ode to Seaweeds Oda a un Gran Atun en el Mercado / Ode to a Large Tuna in the Market Oda a Ia Bicicleta / Ode to Bicycles Oda al Buque en Ia Botella / Ode to a Ship in a Bottle Oda a Ia Casa Abandonada / Ode to an Abandoned House Oda a Ia Casa Dormida / Ode to a Sleeping House Oda a un Cine de Pueblo / Ode to a Village Movie Theater Oda a Ia Edad / Ode to Age Oda a/ Gallo / Ode to a Rooster Oda a Ia ]ardinera / Ode to a Woman Gardening Oda al Libro de Estampas / Ode to a Stamp Album Oda al Limon / Ode to the Lemon Oda a Ia Luz Marina / Ode to Light on the Sea Oda al Maiz / Ode to Maize Oda al Nacimiento de un Ciervo / Ode to the Birth of a Fawn Oda al Doble Otoiio / Ode to Two Autumns Oda a Ia Pantera Negra / Ode to a Black Pantheress Oda al Picaro Ofendido / Ode to an Offended Picaro Oda al Viejo Poeta / Ode to an Aged Poet Oda a Ia Sal / Ode to Salt Oda a las Tormentas de Cordoba / Ode to the Storms of Cordoba

About the Author :
Margaret Sayers Peden is Professor Emerita of Spanish at the University of Missouri, Columbia. The author of Emilio Carballido and editor of The Latin American Short Story, A Critical History, she has translated more than twenty works of fiction, drama, and poetry.