Pablo Neruda

A diplomat, a poet, a writer and a follower of Communism, Pablo Neruda is one of the best known Latin American literary figures from Chile. Pablo Neruda’s works include several genres of writing styles like love poems, political writings, historical narratives and poems revolving around surrealist themes. Love poems of Pablo Neruda like Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair have scaled heights of immense popularity. His works have been translated into a number of languages. For his invaluable contribution to the world of literature, Pablo Neruda received the Noble Prize for Literature in the year 1971.

Life of Pablo Neruda:

Pablo Neruda was born in Parral town in Chile on 12th July, 1904. His mother was a teacher and his father was an employee at the Department of Railways. His original name is Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. The childhood days of Pablo Neruda as well as his youth was spent in Temuco town. His journey as a writer and poet began at a tender age of thirteen as he began to write for the daily ‘La Manana’. Adopting the name Pablo Neruda as his pen name, he began to contribute articles in a journal by the name ‘Selva Austral’ since the year 1920. Thereafter, he produced many literary works and at the same time pursued a course in pedagogy and French at the University of Chile in the capital city of Santiago.

In the years spanning from 1927 and 1935, Pablo Neruda was given the responsibility of handling several honorary offices by the government. In this capacity he visited a number of countries like Singapore, Java, Madrid, Buenos Aires and Barcelona. The poems written by him during that phase became a rage among his audience. Pablo Neruda joined the Republican movement at the wake of The Spanish Civil War and assassination of Garcia Lorca. He was appointed the Spanish emigration consul in the year 1939 and soon after took over as the Consul general in Mexico. His work Canto General that he rewrote from a previous work was published in the year 1950.

In 1945, after his return to Chile in 1943, he was elected as the Republic senator and associated himself with the Communist Party. For a period of two years he lived underground in Chile as a consequence of his resistance offered against President Gonzalez. He left Chile in 1947, finally returning to his country in 1952. The works that he produced during this phase reflects his political actions. He died in Santiago Chile on September 23rd, 1973.

Works of Pablo Neruda:

Some of the well known works of Pablo Neruda feature Crepusculario, Residencia en la tierra, Veinte poemas de amor y una cancion desesperada, Espana en el Corazon, las Uvas y el Viento, Obran Completas, Cien sonetos de amor, Fin del mundo, Arte de pajaros and many more.