Neruda: The Biography of a Poet - Softcover

Eisner, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062694219 ISBN 13: 9780062694218

Publisher: Ecco, 2019

Synopsis

A Finalist for the PEN/Bograd Weld Prize for Biography  

The most definitive biography to date of the poet Pablo Neruda, a moving portrait of one of the most intriguing and influential figures in Latin American history

Few poets have captured the global imagination like Pablo Neruda. In his native Chile, across Latin America, and in many other parts of the world, his name and legacy have become almost synonymous with liberation movements, and with the language of erotic love.

Neruda: The Poet’s Calling is the product of fifteen years of research by Mark Eisner, writer, translator, and documentary filmmaker. The book vividly depicts Neruda’s monumental life, potent verse, and ardent belief in the “poet’s obligation” to use poetry for social good. It braids together three major strands of Neruda’s life—his world-revered poetry; his political engagement; and his tumultuous, even controversial, personal life—forming a single cohesive narrative of intimacy and breadth.

The fascinating events of Neruda’s life are interspersed with Eisner’s thoughtful examinations of the poems, both as works of art in their own right and as mirrors of Neruda’s life and times. The result is a book that animates Neruda’s riveting story in a new way—one that offers a compelling narrative version of Neruda’s life and work, undergirded by exhaustive research, yet designed to bring this colossal literary figure to a broader audience.

 

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Few poets have captured the global imagination like Pablo Neruda. In his native Chile, across Latin America, and in many other parts of the world, his name and legacy have become almost synonymous with liberation movements, and with the language of erotic love.

Neruda: The Biography of a Poet is the product of fifteen years of research by Mark Eisner, writer, translator, and documentary filmmaker. The book vividly depicts Neruda’s monumental life, potent verse, and ardent belief in the “poet’s obligation” to use poetry for social good. It braids together three major strands of Neruda’s life—his world-revered poetry; his political engagement; and his tumultuous, even controversial, personal life—forming a single cohesive narrative of intimacy and breadth.

About the Author:

Mark Eisner is a writer, translator and documentary filmmaker. Neruda: The Biography of a Poet is the product of fifteen years of in-depth research, including many primary interviews with members of Neruda's intimate circle, who offered rare insights into this mysterious public figure's life.


Previously, Eisner conceived, edited, and was one of the principal translators for City Lights' The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems. He also wrote the introduction to City Lights' first ever English translation of Neruda's venture of the infinite man, a project he developed. He is now continuing work on a documentary on Neruda, with support from Latino Public Broadcasting. An initial version, narrated by Isabel Allende, won the Latin American Studies Association Award of Merit in Film. 


He was involved in the early stages of the Red Poppy Art House in San Francisco's Mission district, and continues to help lead Red Poppy the literary-non profit. One of its projects, an anthology of Latin American Poetry in Resistance, will be published in Fall, 2020.


Eisner holds a Masters in Latin American Studies from Stanford University, where he also served as a Visiting Scholar. He received a B.A. in English/Creative Writing and Political Science from the University of Michigan.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ecco
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0062694219
• ISBN 13: 9780062694218
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 640