The Separate Rose

Pablo Neruda, William O’Daly, trans.

This complete English translation of Pablo Neruda’s La rosa separada (The Separate Rose) appears in a bilingual edition by noted Neruda translator William O’Daly. This is the first English translation of this poem sequence which grew out of a trip the Nobel Laureate took to Easter Island in 1971, two years before his death. Alternating between “The Men” and “The Island,” Neruda observes the latest remnants of the ancient world in direct opposition to the present. In this poem, Neruda comes closest to reconstructing our prehistoric connection with nature. In his translation, William O’Daly recreates the somber tones, incriminating surges and compassionate complaints, and the nearly ineffable joy found in the original.
 
Ésta es la primera traducción de esta secuencia que crece de un viaje a Easter Island que el laureado Nobel tomó en 1971, dos años antes de su muerte. Alterna entre “los hombres” y “la isla”, Neruda observa los restos del mundo antiguo en la oposición al momento presente. En este poema, Neruda se acerca a reconstruir nuestra conexión con la naturaleza. En su traducción, William O’Daly recrea los tonos sombríos, los arrebatos de incriminación, las quejas compasiv
as, y la alegría inefable presente en la original.

ISBN: 9781556592256

Format: Paperback

About the Author

Pablo Neruda was born Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto in Parral, Chile, in 1904. He served as consul in Burma (Myanmar) and held diplomatic posts in various East Asian and European countries. In 1945, a few years after he joined the Communist Party, Neruda was elected to the Chilean Senate. Shortly thereafter, when Chile’s political climate took a sudden turn to the right, Neruda fled to Mexico and lived as an exile for several years. He later established a permanent home …

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About the Translator

William O’Daly has translated eight books of the late-career and posthumous poetry of Chilean Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda and most recently Neruda’s first volume, Book of Twilight—a finalist for the 2018 Northern California Book Award in Translation—all published by Copper Canyon Press. O’Daly’s chapbooks of poems include The Whale in the Web, also published by Copper Canyon, The Road to Isla Negra, Water Ways (a collaboration with JS Graustein), and Yarrow and Smoke, the latter three published by Folded Word …

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Reviews

“O’Daly brings to his work a thorough understanding of Neruda’s methods and a deep sympathy for the poet’s moods and aims, knowledge essential to sound literary translation… La rosa separada represents Pablo Neruda at the peak of his art, and William O’Daly has done an important service by bringing it before American readers with such care. As with all Copper Canyon Press publications, The Separate Rose is a beautiful book, flawlessly designed and produced, a subtle tribute to the great poet.” —Bloomsbury Review

“A welcome addition to the growing canon of Neruda’s work now available in English.” —Library Journal

“Inspired by somber landscape [Easter Island], heartbroken but not hopeless, the poetry charts a path between despair and epiphany. This is pure Neruda at his prime, which is to say, incomparable.” —Choice

“Neruda’s lucid poems about his visit to Easter Island contrast the modern alienated condition with the traditional life in union with the universe.” —Booklist

The Separate Rose… has an essential unity and all-embracing scope.” —Northwest Review

“The translations of William O’Daly preserve the energies of meaning in Neruda’s poetry remarkably well.” —Steven White, KLCC Radio

“Copper Canyon Press is one of the small press publishers that a library could well place a standing order for. Like a beautiful island itself, their books are much to be desired.” —Sipapu

The Separate Rose is a lovely book of poetry, sad and memorable, well made both inside and out. It is a poetry lover’s feast.” —Spokane Chronicle