Pablo Neruda poems ‘of extraordinary quality’ discovered

*Subhead: More than 20 unseen works found, which his publisher says amount to ‘a literary event of universal significance.’ VL

By Alison Flood, The Guardian

More than 20 unpublished poems by Pablo Neruda – works of “extraordinary quality” according to his publisher – have been unearthed among the papers of the late Nobel laureate in his native Chile.

Neruda’s Spanish publisher Seix Barral called the discovery “a literary event of universal importance”, and “the biggest find in Spanish literature in recent years”. The poems, which range from love poetry to poems dealing with everyday objects, were written by the mature Neruda, said the publisher, after 1950’s Canto General. They are, said the poet and academic Pere Gimferrer, who is involved with the publication of the poems, as full of “the imaginative power, the overflowing expressive fullness and the same gift, the erotic or loving passion” as Neruda’s best works.

An extract runs: “Reposa tu pura cadera y el arco de flechas mojadas / extiende en la noche los pétalos que forman tu forma”, which translates literally as “Rest your pure hip and the bow of wet arrows / Extend into the night the petals which make up your form.”

Click HERE to read the full story.

[Photo courtesy Fundación Pablo Neruda]

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