Born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto, Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) was already beginning to make a name for himself as a poet by age ten. He published his first collection of poems in 1923, followed a year later by Twenty Love Poems and A Song of Despair, still popular worldwide. Starting in 1927 he took a series of diplomatic posts and lived in places including Burma and Madrid. His experience in war-torn Spain politicized him, and engagement became an important component of his life and art. Following the intertwined literary, political, and personal strands of Neruda’s rich life, Eisner, principal translator and editor of The Essential Neruda, composes a deeply satisfying and illuminating portrait of one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers.
Eisner will be in conversation with Gwen Kirkpatrick, Spanish professor at Georgetown University specializing in Latin American literature.