The Heights of Macchu Picchu: A Bilingual Edition

Pablo Neruda, born in Chile 1904, is one of the greatest Latin American Poets to have livedwas one of Latin America?s greatest poets.The Heights of Macchu Picchu (considered by some to be his finest poem) was inspired by his journey to this famed ruined Peruvian Inca city. These poems take on a progressive journey within both the past of Latin America and the roots of the poet himself.Lovers and devoted students of poetry will be caught up in Neruda's poetic power, hopefully capturing the quintessence of this great poets mind. Others, like myself, who are occasional readers of poetry, may need to reread his words, but, through the rereading, Neruda's own spirit will descend into you mind.Pablo Neruda speaks to the heart and struggle of us all, as he writes, "How many times in wintry streets, or in a bus, a boat a dusk,.... in the very lair of human pleasure, have I wanted to pause and look for the eternal, unfathomable truth's filament I'd fingered once in stone, or in the flash of a kiss released." Highly Recommended.

Pablo Neruda must have written a thousand gorgeous and soul-shaking poems on everything from socks to multinational corporations, but in my (limited) experience, this is his most amazing work. He threads together a wide scope of metaphors-- corn, gloves, roses, lightning, streams, autobuses--as he searches through life for meaning and truth. Sounds like a worn-out, pretentious topic? Think again...Neruda doesn't indulge in philosophical navel-gazing, but delves into the most earthy, mundane, yet painful details of life in his quest. He encounters not a simple answer but the revelation of past tragedy, and a role for himself in bringing about the truth of justice. The poem's beauty may not hit like lightning at first--it must be absorbed bit by bit. Although I must have read Poem 10 (Antigua America, novia sumergida) fifty times, it always sends chills down my spine and sends me thousands of feet high into the Andes. The Heights of Macchu Picchu has comforted me when I felt lonely, helped me write my college essays, and helped me see my future plans as worthwhile instead of idealistic mush. Anyone concerned with the history of Latin America, social justice, nature, or the works of Neruda should read this poem.

When I first read Nathaniel Tarn's translation of Pablo Neruda's great poem "The Heights of Macchu Picchu," I was literally stunned. My immediate thoughts were two: incredulity that I had never encountered this masterpiece before, and an overwhelming desire to share it with as many people as I could.Such is the power of this book. The poem, inspired by the great Chilean poet's visit to the ancient, abandoned city of Macchu Picchu, is presented in a bilingual format; Neruda's Spanish original faces Tarn's English on each two-page spread."The Heights of Macchu Picchu" contains lines of poetic language that are both beautiful and thought-provoking. But equally intrinsic to this great work is the author's compassion for the human condition--a compassion which transcends the boundaries of time and culture. Neruda's passionate addresses to the men and women who shed their blood and their tears in the construction of this ancient stone city nearly had me in tears myself.This is one of those remarkable poems which is pregnant with the fire of prophecy; it reads like a sacred text for the modern age. Neruda's miniature epic is, I believe, one of those works which will abide as a monument of global literature. It is a gift for the entire human family.

What is the deal here? One of the great works by one of the great poets of the modern era and there is one review here? Neruda is to poetry what Marquez is to fiction. Superb insight, irony, metaphor, symbolism, etc. etc. combined with mastery of language (a universal language that does not depend upon a translator's skill). By God, if anyone stumbles across this title by mistake (as apparently that's the only way it's going to make itself known) BUY THIS BOOK! It will change the way you read poetry. Is Neruda out of fashion? That's like saying Voltaire or Dostoevsky are out of fashion. If you love literature, shell out the money for this volume or go to your local library and hope they have it. All you Bukowski lovers and avante-garde wannabe's. This is the father of your sect. He had more command of imagery in the tip of his finger than any beat poet or other poseur that's come along in the past 50 years.