Then Come Back: The Lost Neruda

Pablo Neruda, Forrest Gander, trans.

This stunning collection gathers never-before-seen poems, discovered within Pablo Neruda’s archives in Chile. Neruda is renowned for an oeuvre that casts away despair, celebrates living, and arises from the belief that there is no insurmountable solitude. Then Come Back presents Pablo Neruda’s mature imagination and writing: signature love poems, odes, anecdotal narratives, and poems of the political imagination.  Written on any paper imaginable—napkins, playbills, receipts—and found scattered throughout the Neruda estate, these poems offer heartache, Chilean pride, and hope found in the changing of the seasons and the chirping of crickets. The acclaimed translator Forrest Gander beautifully renders the eros and heartache, deep wonder, and complex wordplay of the original Spanish, which is presented here alongside full-color reproductions of the poems in their original composition.

ISBN: 9781556595325

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9781556594946

Format: Hardcover

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 …

Read more

About the Translator

Forrest Gander was born in the Mojave Desert and grew up in Virginia. He is a writer and translator with degrees in geology and English literature. Among his recent books are Be With, winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize, and Core Samples from the World, a Pulitzer and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. His translations include Then Come Back: The Lost Neruda; Fungus Skull Eye Wing: Selected Poems of Alfonso D’Aquino; and Pinholes in the Night: Essential Poems from …

Read more

Reviews

“A literary event of universal importance.” —The Guardian

“The earliest poem in the collection dates to 1956, and several are love poems, a form Neruda was famous for.” —New York Times

“This new volume will be a labor of love for the publisher and a joy for readers everywhere.” —Library Journal

“This brief visit with Neruda ends all too soon, yet reminds one why his work still matters.” — Washington Post