Portrait on the Rock Neruda's Love, Poetry, Revolution (Wen Jing)

Author: Zhao Zhenjiang, edited by Teng Wei
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-09-01
Features: Pablo Neruda, a complex individual, an extraordinarily talented poet who gained fame at a young age, loved nature as much as women, fine wine, and exquisite food. His love poems blended deep affection and sensuality. The great Chilean poet was also a communist, an outspoken politician who considered social justice as important as poetry, an ambassador, and a presidential candidate. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1971 but was several times an unpopular figure in his homeland, Chile. This year marks the centenary of the birth of the Nobel laureate poet Neruda. The purpose of this book is to comprehensively introduce Neruda’s (Nobel Prize in Literature, 1971) poetic art and life journey, allowing more Chinese readers to understand this poet who enjoyed worldwide acclaim in the 1950s and 1970s. The book adopts a critical biography format, primarily divided into two major sections: Love and Revolution, with an additional concluding section. It totals 170,000 words, illustrated with images, and is rich in detailed information, professionally translated, critically reviewed, and exquisitely produced.
Love Section:
Introduces Neruda’s emotional experiences, brief biographies of his three wives, accompanied by images and recollections from those involved or related to him. It also covers his interactions with artists and poets around the world, including anecdotes and interesting stories. The selected poems from this period primarily feature his early works—dense, obscure, and heavily influenced by modernist style, written during his travels and periods of confusion. The analysis explores the unique charm and artistic characteristics of Neruda’s love poetry. Each selected poem is followed by background information, background images, and brief critical notes.
Revolution Section:
Structured similarly. It focuses on Neruda’s turn to the left and his revolutionary experiences after joining the Communist Party of Chile. It includes his presidential campaign, his interactions with figures like Allende, Che Guevara, and Stalin, his visit to China, his exile, and his death. The selected poems are his most famous and influential political lyrical works.
Conclusion:
Summarizes his life and poetry, introducing the immense reputation he earned as a poet, such as the Nobel Prize’s citation and his acceptance speech.
For today’s disillusioned youth, this book can evoke nostalgia for the red 1960s; when Che Guevara died, he carried an arithmetic textbook and two copies of Neruda’s poetry. For the petite bourgeoisie, they will be moved by Neruda’s passionate love poems; for literature enthusiasts, they will gain a clear understanding of Neruda from this book.