''Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair'' ( es, Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada) is a collection of romantic

poems Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in a ...

by the Chilean poet

Pablo Neruda Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Nerud ...

, first published in 1924 by Editorial Nascimento of Santiago, when Neruda was 19. It was Neruda's second published work, after ''Crepusculario'' (Editorial Nascimento, 1923) and made his name as a poet. ''Veinte poemas'' was controversial for its eroticism, especially considering its author's very young age. Over the decades, ''Veinte poemas'' has become Neruda's best-known work, and has sold more than 20 million copies. The book has been translated into many languages; in English, the translation was made by poet

W. S. Merwin William Stanley Merwin (September 30, 1927 – March 15, 2019) was an American poet who wrote more than fifty books of poetry and prose, and produced many works in translation. During the 1960s anti-war movement, Merwin's unique craft was thema ...

in 1969. It remains the best selling poetry book in the Spanish language ever, almost 100 years after its first publication. As of 2020, it is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

in the United States. In 2001, the alternative rock musician

Lynda Thomas Lynda Aguirre Thomas (born 21 December 1981), known professionally as Lynda, is a Mexican musician, singer, songwriter and activist. She achieved recognition in her native Mexico during the 1990s and early 2000s. She was signed to EMI Capitol ...

released as a single the flamenco song " Ay, Ay, Ay", which was based on this work. This poetry book is also the subject of Pablo Larraín’s acclaimed feature film ''

Neruda Neruda may refer to: People * Neruda (surname), a list of people with the surname ** Jan Neruda (1834—1891), Czech journalist, writer, and poet ** Johann Baptist Georg Neruda (—), classical Czech composer ** Pablo Neruda (1904—1973), Chilean ...

'' starring Gael García Bernal.

References

1924 poetry books Chilean poetry collections Pablo Neruda {{Poetry-collection-stub

See also

References