In the introduction to this bilingual volume, the translator reminds us: "Neruda spent the last forty years of his life making himself dangerous with his poetry... He came to see poetry as a moral act, with personal and communal responsibilities." But here, Neruda is at his playful and irreverent best. Whether writing a celebration, allegory, lament or self-parody, the poet declares the strong sense of an improvisational spirit. Highlighted as "Essential" by "Library Journal."

A best-selling volume of Pablo Neruda's poetry in an English-Spanish edition.

Pablo Neruda is one of the world's most popular poets, and in "The Book of Questions," Neruda refuses to be corralled by the rational mind. Composed of 316 unanswerable questions, these poems integrate the wonder of a child with the experiences of an adult. By turns Orphic, comic, surreal, and poignant, Neruda's questions lead the reader "beyond" reason into realms of intuition and pure imagination.

This complete translation of Pablo Neruda's "El libro de las preguntas" ("The Book of Questions") features Neruda's original Spanish-language poems alongside William O'Daly's English translations. In his introduction O'Daly, who has translated eight volumes of Pablo Neruda's poetry, writes, "These poems, more so than any of Neruda's other work, remind us that living in a state of visionary surrender to the elemental questions, free of the quiet desperation of clinging too tightly to answers, may be our greatest act of faith."

When Neruda died in 1973, "The Book of Questions "was one of eight unpublished poetry manuscripts that lay on his desk. In it, Neruda achieves a deeper vulnerability and vision than in his earlier work-and this unique book is a testament to everything that made Neruda an artist.

"Neruda's questions evoke pictures that make sense on a visual level before the reader can grasp them on a literal one. The effect is mildly dazzling and] O'Daly's translations achieve a tone that is both meditative and spontaneous." --"Publishers Weekly"

Pablo Neruda, born in southern Chile, led a life charged with poetic and political activity. He was the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, the International Peace Prize, and served as Chile's ambassador to several countries, including Burma, France, and Argentina. He died in 1973.

II.

Tell me, is the rose naked
or is that her only dress?

Why do trees conceal
the splendor of their roots?

Who hears the regrets
of the thieving automobile?

Is there anything in the world sadder
than a train standing in the rain?

XIV.

And what did the rubies say
standing before the juice of pomegranates?

Why doesn't Thursday talk itself
into coming after Friday?

Who shouted with glee
when the color blue was born?

Why does the earth grieve
when the violets appear?

Pablo Neruda is one of the world's great poets, and Copper Canyon Press has long been dedicated to publishing translations of his work in bilingual editions.

"The Hands of Day"-at long last translated into English in its entirety-pronounces Neruda's desire to take part in the great human making of the day. Moved by the guilt of never having worked with his hands, Neruda opens with the despairing confession, "Why did I not make a broom? / Why was I given hands at all?" The themes of hands and work grow in significance as Neruda celebrates the carpenters, longshoremen, blacksmiths, and bakers-those laborers he admires most-and shares his exuberant adoration for the earth and the people upon it.

"Yes, I am guilty
of what I did not do,
of what I did not sow, did not cut, did not measure,
of never having rallied myself to populate lands,
of having sustained myself in the deserts
and of my voice speaking with the sand."

Pablo Neruda (19041973) was a Chilean poet and diplomat who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1971. Recognized during his life as "a people's poet," he is considered one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.

William O'Daly is the best-selling translator of six of Pablo Neruda's books, including "The Book of Questions" and "The Sea and the Bells." His work as a translator has been featured on "The Today Show."

"Neruda's lyricism wakes us up, even in the face of death, to the connections we have with our land, inner and outer."--"Los Angeles Times Book Review"

The first authorized English translation of "Aun," considered among Neruda's finest long poems.

More aware than ever of his imminent death, these 28 cantos--written during two intensely lyrical days--launch the poet on a personal expedition in search of his deepest roots. It is a soaring tribute to the Chilean people, their history and survival that invokes the Araucanian Indians, the conquistadors who tried to enslave them, folklore, the people and places of his childhood and the sights and smells of the marketplace. As in the best poetry, Neruda's particulars become profoundly universal. With an introduction by William O'Daly.

The sound of ships' bells, sea waves, and migratory birds fuel Neruda's longing to retreat from life's noisy busyness. Stripped to essentials, these poems are some of the last Neruda ever wrote, as he pulled "one dream out of another." Includes the final lovesong to his wife, written in the past tense: "It was beautiful to live / When you lived!" Bilingual with introduction.

"Deeply personal, expansive, and universal... majestic and understated beauty."-"Publishers Weekly"