“Love is so short, forgetting is so long”. Pablo Neruda. Nobel Prize for Literature, 1971
Pablo Neruda, acclaimed as the greatest poet in the 20th century, expressed passion and sorrow in hauntingly beautiful lines that drive us to search his life-story for answers.
Exploring Neruda’s World: Loneliness
Loneliness appears to have played a role in his life. Born in Paral, Chile, (July 12, 1904), his mother died when Pablo was two years old. As a young schoolboy in Temuco, his calling: There is no insurmountable solitude. All paths lead to the same goal: to convey to others what we are, described in Neruda and Vallejo, was disdained by his father. His mentor was Gabriela Mistral, headmistress of the local school, herself a poet and Nobel Prize winner in 1945.
University and Subsequent Years.
At university in Santiago, Pablo experienced loneliness and failed love affairs. He found consolation in poetry, and by nineteen, his first books of poems were published, Twilight, and Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair. The latter remains the best selling poetry book ever written in Spanish, and translated into many languages.
The Poet-Diplomat.
In 1927 he began his poet-diplomatic career. Posted to Burma, he experienced intense loneliness. He then went to Spain, where the horrors of civil war profoundly affected him. Recalled to Chile, Pablo eventually went underground for two years due to his leftist leanings; in 1948, he made a desperate escape across the Andes to Argentina, hauntingly described in the Nobel Lectures.
The Analysis, In Neruda’s Words.
A prolific author of poetry, political essays and historical epics, by the age of twenty, Pablo was a renowned author( read more here ).
He had a yearning within himself for fulfilment, pouring out his soul in a poetic expression of love and loss. From childhood, he believed in his calling: All paths lead to the same goal: to convey to others what we are.
Creating a flow of eloquent words, he made books, was acknowledged by fellow writers, and his poetry reaches into hearts today.
Copyright: Lynette Clements. 2020. This is my 2nd piece for Illumination in the Writing Challenge, in this article by Dr Mehmet Yildiz
Exploring Pablo Neruda’s world in more depth has opened up the discovery of a unique and gifted person, who bequeathed to us a wide range of literature; it is my hope you will embark on a voyage of discovery and be as inspired as I am.
I leave the following with you:
- How apt for today is the poem Keeping Quiet? It’s as though it were written with our current crisis in mind. Pablo Neruda’s Beautiful Ode to Silence “Keeping Quiet.” https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/05/28/keeping-quiet-sylvia-boorstein-reads-pablo-neruda/ Accessed 20/04/20
- Quotes: Inspirational feed https://www. inspirationfeed.com/pablo-neruda-quotes/ Accessed 20/04/2020
3) Pablo Neruda: https://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Neruda Accessed 202/04/2020
4) Pablo Neruda Facts https://www.biography.yourdictionary.com/pablo-neruda Accessed 20/04/2020
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