Isla Negra A Notebook

Poetry. Gabriel Garcia Marquez has stated that Pablo Neruda was the greatest poet of this century in any language. He may well be right. In this collection of poems we see the poet in the company of his muse, walking alongside the source of his most lyrical inspiration: the sea. Gazing from his house on the shores of Isla Negra, Neruda discovered a new way of seeing, as the ocean became a living metaphor for the infinite riches of the world, gleaming in his poetry: stones, turtles, crabs, anchors, celestial starfish, a bronze dolphin, the figurehead of a ship, a drowned sailor. I am grateful to White Pine Press that now I can share these poems with my students, the community of poets, or anyone who would appreciate Neruda's passion for existence. Gracias, companeros -- Martin Espada.