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Odes to Common Things
A bilingual collection of 25 newly translated odes by the century's greatest Spanish-language poet, each accompanied by a pair of exquisite pencil drawings. From bread and soap to a bed and a box of tea, the "odes to common things" collected here conjure up the essence of their subjects clearly and wondrously. 50 Black and White illustrations.
152 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1954
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3967 people want to read
About the author
Pablo Neruda
1,045 books9,542 followersPablo Neruda, born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto in 1904 in Parral, Chile, was a poet, diplomat, and politician, widely considered one of the most influential literary figures of the 20th century. From an early age, he showed a deep passion for poetry, publishing his first works as a teenager. He adopted the pen name Pablo Neruda to avoid disapproval from his father, who discouraged his literary ambitions. His breakthrough came with Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada (Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, 1924), a collection of deeply emotional and sensual poetry that gained international recognition and remains one of his most celebrated works.
Neruda’s career took him beyond literature into diplomacy, a path that allowed him to travel extensively and engage with political movements around the world. Beginning in 1927, he served in various consular posts in Asia and later in Spain, where he witnessed the Spanish Civil War and became an outspoken advocate for the Republican cause. His experiences led him to embrace communism, a commitment that would shape much of his later poetry and political activism. His collection España en el corazón (Spain in Our Hearts, 1937) reflected his deep sorrow over the war and marked a shift toward politically engaged writing.
Returning to Chile, he was elected to the Senate in 1945 as a member of the Communist Party. However, his vocal opposition to the repressive policies of President Gabriel Gonzalez Videla led to his exile. During this period, he traveled through various countries, including Argentina, Mexico, and the Soviet Union, further cementing his status as a global literary and political figure. It was during these years that he wrote Canto General (1950), an epic work chronicling Latin American history and the struggles of its people.
Neruda’s return to Chile in 1952 marked a new phase in his life, balancing political activity with a prolific literary output. He remained a staunch supporter of socialist ideals and later developed a close relationship with Salvador Allende, who appointed him as Chile’s ambassador to France in 1970. The following year, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, recognized for the scope and impact of his poetry. His later years were marked by illness, and he died in 1973, just days after the military coup that overthrew Allende. His legacy endures, not only in his vast body of work but also in his influence on literature, political thought, and the cultural identity of Latin America.
Neruda’s career took him beyond literature into diplomacy, a path that allowed him to travel extensively and engage with political movements around the world. Beginning in 1927, he served in various consular posts in Asia and later in Spain, where he witnessed the Spanish Civil War and became an outspoken advocate for the Republican cause. His experiences led him to embrace communism, a commitment that would shape much of his later poetry and political activism. His collection España en el corazón (Spain in Our Hearts, 1937) reflected his deep sorrow over the war and marked a shift toward politically engaged writing.
Returning to Chile, he was elected to the Senate in 1945 as a member of the Communist Party. However, his vocal opposition to the repressive policies of President Gabriel Gonzalez Videla led to his exile. During this period, he traveled through various countries, including Argentina, Mexico, and the Soviet Union, further cementing his status as a global literary and political figure. It was during these years that he wrote Canto General (1950), an epic work chronicling Latin American history and the struggles of its people.
Neruda’s return to Chile in 1952 marked a new phase in his life, balancing political activity with a prolific literary output. He remained a staunch supporter of socialist ideals and later developed a close relationship with Salvador Allende, who appointed him as Chile’s ambassador to France in 1970. The following year, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, recognized for the scope and impact of his poetry. His later years were marked by illness, and he died in 1973, just days after the military coup that overthrew Allende. His legacy endures, not only in his vast body of work but also in his influence on literature, political thought, and the cultural identity of Latin America.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 228 reviews
December 21, 2022
Through Neruda's voice we're reminded that a cat, a spoon, a table, an onion, a flower, are all worthy of poems written just for them. Through his eyes we're reminded of the wonder of the common things themselves, and of the wonder of their significance and place in the world. Lovely lines and arresting ideas knit themselves into poems even children can appreciate (and, perhaps, imitate for a classroom lesson).
The book itself is wonderful, too. The illustrations are either of two different kinds of spoons, or two views of a certain kind of flower, heading the Spanish version of the poem and the English translation. Cook's art makes these common things uncommonly beautiful, too.
And Krabbenhoft's translation is masterful. I can only read bits of Spanish, but I was drawn to compare K's word-play and 'music' to Neruda's, and was impressed how K managed to capture Neruda's intent so well.
I want to own and often reread a copy of this gem. I want students of all ages to enjoy it, too. And I want to gift it to every friend who is interested in decor, design, architecture, whether or not they're interested in poetry. See for example the title facing page, in which spoons are clustered, bowls up, in a juice glass, looking just like themselves but simultaneously like a bouquet of flowers.
From Ode to a Table
... a single ray of summer light
strikes like a sword
upon this table sitting in the dark
and greets the plums' transparent peace.
from Ode to a Dog
And he asks me
with both eyes:
why is it daytime? why does the night always fall?
why does spring bring
nothing
in its basket
for wandering dogs
but useless flowers,
flowers and more flowers?
from Ode to an Artichoke
All lined up,
they were never more warlike
than that day at the fair.
...
But
then
along comes
Maria
with a basket on her arm.
...
For the final act
we reveal
its delicious flavor,
plucking it leaf by leaf,
and devour
the peaceable dough
that lies at its green heart.
---
Reread. Really, translators and book designers deserve more credit. They get it here, I'm glad to see, but too often I have to squint at the copyright page's fine print to find the name of the translator, and often the book designer isn't named even on specially lovely books.
The book itself is wonderful, too. The illustrations are either of two different kinds of spoons, or two views of a certain kind of flower, heading the Spanish version of the poem and the English translation. Cook's art makes these common things uncommonly beautiful, too.
And Krabbenhoft's translation is masterful. I can only read bits of Spanish, but I was drawn to compare K's word-play and 'music' to Neruda's, and was impressed how K managed to capture Neruda's intent so well.
I want to own and often reread a copy of this gem. I want students of all ages to enjoy it, too. And I want to gift it to every friend who is interested in decor, design, architecture, whether or not they're interested in poetry. See for example the title facing page, in which spoons are clustered, bowls up, in a juice glass, looking just like themselves but simultaneously like a bouquet of flowers.
From Ode to a Table
... a single ray of summer light
strikes like a sword
upon this table sitting in the dark
and greets the plums' transparent peace.
from Ode to a Dog
And he asks me
with both eyes:
why is it daytime? why does the night always fall?
why does spring bring
nothing
in its basket
for wandering dogs
but useless flowers,
flowers and more flowers?
from Ode to an Artichoke
All lined up,
they were never more warlike
than that day at the fair.
...
But
then
along comes
Maria
with a basket on her arm.
...
For the final act
we reveal
its delicious flavor,
plucking it leaf by leaf,
and devour
the peaceable dough
that lies at its green heart.
---
Reread. Really, translators and book designers deserve more credit. They get it here, I'm glad to see, but too often I have to squint at the copyright page's fine print to find the name of the translator, and often the book designer isn't named even on specially lovely books.
April 7, 2021
Last night I watched the first installment of Ken Burns' documentary, Hemingway, and one of the scholars marveled about his going against the grain. When a lot of writers were going fancy and ornate -- think James Joyce and Faulkner, for instance -- Hemingway went simple (asterisk).
"Simple" meant anyone with a high school education -- even less -- could easily read and understand his prose-writing. Whether they could infer what was going on beneath the surface is another thing.
I thought of that while reading Neruda's Odes to Common Things. First there is the lovely idea of singing praises not to warriors, like, say, the ancient Greeks with their hang-ups on war, but to everyday items like dogs and salt and apples and socks. You might say, "Good luck with that, Pablo!" but if you did, he'd say back (in Spanish), "Thanks, and don't mind if I do."
To do so, he finds the silver (nay, gold) lining in most everything. In that sense, it's a Buddhist-like wake-up call for the common reader. Yes, a chair and a bed are that good, when you think about it. You just don't think about it, and therein lies the problem.
This edition has Spanish on the left and English on the right, so it's also a good text to test your Spanish, if you've studied that language or are studying it still. Here, for Goodreads, is an example of an ode to one of our collective favorite items -- books.
Ode to the Book
When I close a book
I open life.
I hear
faltering cries
among harbours.
Copper ignots
slide down sand-pits
to Tocopilla.
Night time.
Among the islands
our ocean
throbs with fish,
touches the feet, the thighs,
the chalk ribs
of my country.
The whole of night
clings to its shores, by dawn
it wakes up singing
as if it had excited a guitar.
The ocean's surge is calling.
The wind
calls me
and Rodriguez calls,
and Jose Antonio-
I got a telegram
from the 'Mine' Union
and the one I love
(whose name I won't let out)
expects me in Bucalemu.
No book has been able
to wrap me in paper,
to fill me up
with typography,
with heavenly imprints
or was ever able
to bind my eyes,
I come out of books to people orchards
with the hoarse family of my song,
to work the burning metals
or to eat smoked beef
by mountain firesides.
I love adventurous
books,
books of forest or snow,
depth or sky
but hate
the spider book
in which thought
has laid poisonous wires
to trap the juvenile
and circling fly.
Book, let me go.
I won't go clothed
in volumes,
I don't come out
of collected works,
my poems
have not eaten poems-
they devour
exciting happenings,
feed on rough weather,
and dig their food
out of earth and men.
I'm on my way
with dust in my shoes
free of mythology:
send books back to their shelves,
I'm going down into the streets.
I learned about life
from life itself,
love I learned in a single kiss
and could teach no one anything
except that I have lived
with something in common among men,
when fighting with them,
when saying all their say in my song.
"Simple" meant anyone with a high school education -- even less -- could easily read and understand his prose-writing. Whether they could infer what was going on beneath the surface is another thing.
I thought of that while reading Neruda's Odes to Common Things. First there is the lovely idea of singing praises not to warriors, like, say, the ancient Greeks with their hang-ups on war, but to everyday items like dogs and salt and apples and socks. You might say, "Good luck with that, Pablo!" but if you did, he'd say back (in Spanish), "Thanks, and don't mind if I do."
To do so, he finds the silver (nay, gold) lining in most everything. In that sense, it's a Buddhist-like wake-up call for the common reader. Yes, a chair and a bed are that good, when you think about it. You just don't think about it, and therein lies the problem.
This edition has Spanish on the left and English on the right, so it's also a good text to test your Spanish, if you've studied that language or are studying it still. Here, for Goodreads, is an example of an ode to one of our collective favorite items -- books.
Ode to the Book
When I close a book
I open life.
I hear
faltering cries
among harbours.
Copper ignots
slide down sand-pits
to Tocopilla.
Night time.
Among the islands
our ocean
throbs with fish,
touches the feet, the thighs,
the chalk ribs
of my country.
The whole of night
clings to its shores, by dawn
it wakes up singing
as if it had excited a guitar.
The ocean's surge is calling.
The wind
calls me
and Rodriguez calls,
and Jose Antonio-
I got a telegram
from the 'Mine' Union
and the one I love
(whose name I won't let out)
expects me in Bucalemu.
No book has been able
to wrap me in paper,
to fill me up
with typography,
with heavenly imprints
or was ever able
to bind my eyes,
I come out of books to people orchards
with the hoarse family of my song,
to work the burning metals
or to eat smoked beef
by mountain firesides.
I love adventurous
books,
books of forest or snow,
depth or sky
but hate
the spider book
in which thought
has laid poisonous wires
to trap the juvenile
and circling fly.
Book, let me go.
I won't go clothed
in volumes,
I don't come out
of collected works,
my poems
have not eaten poems-
they devour
exciting happenings,
feed on rough weather,
and dig their food
out of earth and men.
I'm on my way
with dust in my shoes
free of mythology:
send books back to their shelves,
I'm going down into the streets.
I learned about life
from life itself,
love I learned in a single kiss
and could teach no one anything
except that I have lived
with something in common among men,
when fighting with them,
when saying all their say in my song.
June 8, 2017
I found myself needing to read poetry for a Read Harder challenge, something I have not done since high school. I decided on Pablo Neruda as I had come across some of his love poetry and also read something of his history when I visited Valparaiso many years ago. This edition of Odes to Common Things seemed a great starting point to ease myself into his poetry.
It is a great collection, enhanced with lovely pencil sketches of the everyday items that are risen to objects of desire by these verses. I was somewhat amazed to find out how relaxing reading this was, a vacation from books, tweets and news that is heavy with "issues". The simplicity of a poem about a pair of socks or a Gillyflower is like a balm. The gentle reminder that beauty and wonder can be found everywhere and in the simplest of things, if you truly take the time to notice.
My favourite was the story of the Artichoke - I thought it was ingenious.
The tender-hearted
upright
artichoke
girded itself as
a warrior, constructed
a small dome,
to keep itself
waterproof
within
its scales.
....
Ode to the Artichoke
It is a great collection, enhanced with lovely pencil sketches of the everyday items that are risen to objects of desire by these verses. I was somewhat amazed to find out how relaxing reading this was, a vacation from books, tweets and news that is heavy with "issues". The simplicity of a poem about a pair of socks or a Gillyflower is like a balm. The gentle reminder that beauty and wonder can be found everywhere and in the simplest of things, if you truly take the time to notice.
My favourite was the story of the Artichoke - I thought it was ingenious.
The tender-hearted
upright
artichoke
girded itself as
a warrior, constructed
a small dome,
to keep itself
waterproof
within
its scales.
....
Ode to the Artichoke
June 7, 2008
If you ever wanted to translate Flemish still life painting into words, read this book.
March 16, 2024
enginardan domatese sıradan şeylere dair şiirler okumak enteresan oldu. nobel ödüllü şilili pablo neruda’da şiir çevirisi yapmak oldukça meşakkatli bir iş. çevirmen adnan özer’i tebrik ederim, ‘şiir okuyucusu’ olmamama rağmen bitirebildim kitabı. farklı bir deneyim oldu.
February 26, 2025
Neruda. Is. Aweeeesome. Always.
April 15, 2024
Doğrudur çabucak yorulduğum
ve yıldızlara baktığım,
uzanıyorum çayıra, bir böcek geçiyor,
keman rengi,
bir küçük memelerini
bir ince belini
sarıyorum sevdiceğimin,
*
Es verdad que de pronto
me fatigo
y miro las estrellas,
me tiendo en el pasto, pasa
un insecto color de violín,
pongo el brazo
sobre un pequeño seno
o bajo la cintura
de la dulce que amo,
ve yıldızlara baktığım,
uzanıyorum çayıra, bir böcek geçiyor,
keman rengi,
bir küçük memelerini
bir ince belini
sarıyorum sevdiceğimin,
*
Es verdad que de pronto
me fatigo
y miro las estrellas,
me tiendo en el pasto, pasa
un insecto color de violín,
pongo el brazo
sobre un pequeño seno
o bajo la cintura
de la dulce que amo,
May 8, 2019
আমার পড়া সবচেয়ে ভালো বাম-কবিতা মনে হয় এইগুলিই। নেরুদা অনুবাদে কেমন ভোঁতা হয়ে যায়, বিশেষ করে বাংলায়। ইংরেজিতে আরো বাজে। এর কারণ সম্ভবত তাঁর কবিতার তালটা। একটা তাল আছে তাঁর কবিতায়, ঐটা কেটে গেলে এইসব কবিতা জৌলুস হারায়ে মড়া মড়া লীফলেট হয়ে যাবে।
এক বইয়ের দোকান থেকে মেরে দেয়া বই। আশা করি কেয়ামতে এরও শোধ নেয়া হবে না।
এক বইয়ের দোকান থেকে মেরে দেয়া বই। আশা করি কেয়ামতে এরও শোধ নেয়া হবে না।
June 1, 2017
For the Read Harder Challenge, a collection of poetry in translation about a topic other than love.
April 17, 2012
'Cebolla,
luminosa redoma,
pétalo a pátalo
se formó tu hermosura,
escamas de cristal te acrecentaron
y en el secreto de la tierra oscura
se redendeó tu vientre de rocío.
Bajo la tierra
fue el milagro
e cuando apareció
tu torpe tallo verde,
y nacieron
tus hojas como espadas en el huerto,
la tierra acumuló su poderío
mostrando tu desnuda transparencia,
y como en Afrodita el mar remoto
duplicó la magnolia
levantando sus senos,
la tierra
así te hizo,
cebolla,
clara como un planeta,
y destinada
a relucir,
contelación constante,
redonda rosa de agua,
sobre
la mesma
de las pobres gentes.
Generosa
deshaces
tu globo de frescura
en la consumación
ferviente de la olla,
y el jirón de cristal
al calor encendido del azeite
se transforma en rizada pluma de oro.
También recordaré como fecunda
tu influencia ele amor de la ensalada
y parece que el cielo contribuye
dándote fina forma de granizo
a celebrar tu claridad picada
sobre los hemisferios de un tomate.
Pero al alcance
de las manos del pueblo,
regada con aceite,
espolvoreada
con un poco de sal,
matas el hambre
del jornalero en el duro camino.
Estrella de los pobres,
hada madrina
envuelta
en delicado
papel, sales del suelo,
eterna, intacta, pura
como semilla de astro,
y al cortarte
el cuchillo en la cocina
sube la única lágrima
sin pena.
Nos hiciste llorar sin afligirmos.
Yo cuanto existe celebré, cebolla,
pero para mí eres
más hermosa que un ave
de plumas cegadoras,
eres mis ojos
globo celeste, copa de platino,
baile inmóvil
de anémona nevada
y vive la fragancia de la tierra
en tu naturaleza cristalina.'
luminosa redoma,
pétalo a pátalo
se formó tu hermosura,
escamas de cristal te acrecentaron
y en el secreto de la tierra oscura
se redendeó tu vientre de rocío.
Bajo la tierra
fue el milagro
e cuando apareció
tu torpe tallo verde,
y nacieron
tus hojas como espadas en el huerto,
la tierra acumuló su poderío
mostrando tu desnuda transparencia,
y como en Afrodita el mar remoto
duplicó la magnolia
levantando sus senos,
la tierra
así te hizo,
cebolla,
clara como un planeta,
y destinada
a relucir,
contelación constante,
redonda rosa de agua,
sobre
la mesma
de las pobres gentes.
Generosa
deshaces
tu globo de frescura
en la consumación
ferviente de la olla,
y el jirón de cristal
al calor encendido del azeite
se transforma en rizada pluma de oro.
También recordaré como fecunda
tu influencia ele amor de la ensalada
y parece que el cielo contribuye
dándote fina forma de granizo
a celebrar tu claridad picada
sobre los hemisferios de un tomate.
Pero al alcance
de las manos del pueblo,
regada con aceite,
espolvoreada
con un poco de sal,
matas el hambre
del jornalero en el duro camino.
Estrella de los pobres,
hada madrina
envuelta
en delicado
papel, sales del suelo,
eterna, intacta, pura
como semilla de astro,
y al cortarte
el cuchillo en la cocina
sube la única lágrima
sin pena.
Nos hiciste llorar sin afligirmos.
Yo cuanto existe celebré, cebolla,
pero para mí eres
más hermosa que un ave
de plumas cegadoras,
eres mis ojos
globo celeste, copa de platino,
baile inmóvil
de anémona nevada
y vive la fragancia de la tierra
en tu naturaleza cristalina.'
December 28, 2020
Este libro de poemas te vence por puro desgaste. Al principio, tiene su gracia: oda al hilo, oda a mirar pájaros, oda al tomate, oda al pan, oda al verano. Pero es que a la vigésima oda estaba ya tirándome de los pelos. Son poemas que, si bien tienen imágenes muy bonitas con metáforas ingeniosas y sinestesias bastante chulas, son TONTORRONES a más no poder. Además, el ritmo es tan monótono y el verso siempre tan corto que agota leerlo "recitando en la cabeza": allá por la mitad, renegué y los leí de seguido, como si fuera prosa. Si fuera de cualquier otro poeta, se diría que no son más que chascarrillos; pero como es Neruda, pues son "propuestas materialistas". Evitadlo si podéis. Si os da curiosidad, os digo dos o tres que he seleccionado y, con que les echéis un vistazo, ya os haríais una idea. Dudo mucho que lea los otros dos de la trilogía. Y me da verdadero dolor de cabeza pensando en que deben ser otras dos ristras de tonterías.
February 25, 2019
Whether it's a table, a bar of soap, an onion, a dog, a spoon, a violin, or a bowl, Neruda reminds us that all things are worthy and all things possess beauty. If only one takes the time to look. Loved each and every one of these. I need to buy this book ASAP!
January 26, 2018
The great Neruda proves that no object is worthless in the eyes of art. A cat, a salt shaker, a chair, all have poetic resonance and emotional power in the hands of a great artist.
This particular edition has the benefit of the original language on the left hand pages, which makes for fun comparisons of words.
A quick and rewarding book of generally light verse.
This particular edition has the benefit of the original language on the left hand pages, which makes for fun comparisons of words.
A quick and rewarding book of generally light verse.
June 18, 2020
I really really love this beautiful and simple book of poetry - it elevates the life of small, everyday things that we often take for granted. A great inspiration, this book is a gift to be treasured and read over and over.
May 29, 2016
Ordinary stuff made beautiful with love and luminous words. Today, "Scissors" and "Cat" are my favourites. Tomorrow it might be "Chair" and "Yellow Flowers".
April 22, 2024
Pablo Neruda, 20. yüzyılın en önemli şairlerinden biri olarak kabul edilir. Günümüzde de çok okunan, çok sevilen bir şair. Türkiye açısından bakarsak şiirin pek okunmadığı, çeviri şiirin pek sevilmediği bir ülkede Pablo Neruda, birçok Türk şairden daha çok popüler.
Türkçe’de ilk kez 1954 yılında Afyon Dinar’da yayınlanan Nedret Gürcan’ın efsane dergisi Şairler Yaprağı’nda Canto General’den beş dize ile tanınmış. 1960’ta Enver Gökçe’nin çevirisi ile seçme şiirlerinden oluşan Türkçedeki ilk kitabı yayınlanmış. Hilmi Yavuz, Sait Maden, Nihat Behram, Ülkü Tamer, Cevat Çapan, Erdoğan Alkan, Metin Cengiz, Özdemir İnce, Erdal Alova gibi şairler Türkçeye çevirmiş şiirlerini. Bir anlamda şairlerin gözde şairi. Yirmiden fazla kitabı Türkçeye kazandırılmış. Her çeviri defalarca basılmış. Türkiye’de her zaman çok okunan bir şair olmuş.
Adnan Özer’in Pablo Neruda’dan kitaplaşan ilk çevirisi “Yeryüzünde Konaklama”nın yayın yılı 1984 (Alaz yay.). Adnan Özer kırk yıldır Neruda’nın şiirlerini Türkçeye çeviriyor. “Seçme Şiirler”, “100 Aşk Sonesi”, yılın çevirisi ödülü kazandıran “Evrensel Şarkı”, “Yirmi Aşk Şiiri ve Bir Umutsuz Şarkı” ve “Ayaklarına Dokunurum Gölgede” benim tespit edebildiğim Neruda’dan çeviri kitapları. Şimdi bu kitaplara “Sıradan Şeylere Övgüler” (Can yay.) eklendi.
Pablo Neruda, şiirlerinde doğa, aşk, politika ve insan ilişkileri gibi konuları işler. Şiirlerinde derin bir lirizm ve duygusallık bulunurken aynı zamanda güçlü bir politik ses de taşır. Onun şiirlerindeki güçlü imgeler ve duygu yüklü ifadeler, yoğun bir şiir zevki yaşatır. Okuyucuları kendi içinde bir keşfe çıkarırken aynı zamanda dünyayı ve insanın varoluşunu derinlemesine anlamalarını sağlar.
Politik olarak da aktif bir aydın olan Neruda, şiirlerinde toplumsal adaletsizliklere, baskılara, sınıf dayanışmasına ve insan haklarına duyduğu hassasiyeti dile getirir. Neruda'nın şiirleri hem duygusal zenginlikleriyle hem de güçlü siyasi mesajlarıyla geniş ve kalıcı bir etki yaratmıştır.
Pablo Neruda'nın "Sıradan Şeylere Övgüler" kitabı onun eserleri arasında farklı bir konumda. Neruda sıradan nesneleri ve doğal olguları konu ediyor bu kitaptaki şiirlerde. Özellikle, günlük hayatın içinde sıkça gözden kaçırılan detayları vurgulayarak şiir dünyasına yepyeni bir boyut katıyor.
Adnan Özer’in kitaba yazdığı önsözden öğrendiğimize göre Neruda bu şiirleri Venezuelalı şair ve yazar Miguel Otero de Silva’nın önerisi ile kaleme almış. Miguel Otero de Silva “El Nacional” gazetesini yönetiyormuş. Yakın dostu Neruda’ya gündelik dili kullanarak her hafta bir şiir yazmasını teklif etmiş. Böylelikle gazetenin okur sayısının artacağını düşünüyormuş. Zira 1950’lerde Pablo Neruda son kitabı “Evrensel Şarkı” ile tüm Latin Amerika’da tanınmış bir şairmiş.
Teklifi kabul eden Neruda gazetede coğrafya, bitkiler alemi, doğa, canlı varlıklar, cansız varlıklar ve soyut şeyler hakkında yazmış. Ayrılan yerin bir sütun genişliğinde olması planlandığı için kısa dizlerle yazmış şiirlerini. 68 şiir çıkmış ortaya.
Şiirin sadece yüce şeylerden kaynaklanmayacağını, her şeyin şiirinin yazılacağını göstermek istemiş. Havaya, enginara, kuşlara, yılan balığı çorbasına, yerdeki kestaneye, soğana, biraya, ipliğe, yağmura, mırıltıya, sayılara, saka kuşuna, ekmeğe, kol saatine, domatese, takım elbiseye övgüler yazmış.
Neruda "Sıradan Şeylere Övgüler" kitabındaki şiirlerde bu nesneleri ve olguları sadece yüzeysel olarak değil, içlerinde taşıdıkları anlamları ve insan deneyimine olan etkilerini de ele alarak övgü dolu bir şekilde işliyor. Neruda, gerçekçi fotoğrafçılardan farklı olmayan bir şekilde, günlük yaşamın tüm yönlerini şiirlerinde yakalamayı hedefliyor. Konusu canlı ya da cansız, atom ya da sinekkuşu olsun, Neruda onu birçok açıdan dikkatle ele alıyor ve onu ne süslemek ne de basitleştirmek, olduğu gibi yansıtmak istiyor. Bu yaklaşım, okuyucuyu sıradan gibi görünen şeylerin ardındaki derinlikleri düşünmeye ve hissetmeye yönlendiriyor.
İnsanın doğayla olan ilişkisini ve doğanın içindeki gizemleri keşfetme tutkusunu da yansıtıyor. Şair, doğadaki her şeyin bir bütünün parçası olduğunu ve bu parçaların birbirini tamamladığını vurgularken, aynı zamanda doğanın bize sunduğu güzellikleri ve dersleri de öne çıkarıyor.
Kitaptaki şiirler hem duygusal derinlikleriyle etkileyici hem de sıradanlıklarıyla herkesin kolayca anlayabileceği bir yapıda. Bu da Neruda'nın şiirlerinin geniş bir okuyucu kitlesine hitap etmesini sağlıyor.
Çevirmenlerin işi, sadece bir dilden diğerine kelime ya da dize aktarmak değil, aynı zamanda şairin sesini, niyetini, duygusunu ve estetik anlayışını da doğru bir şekilde iletmektir. Adnan Özer'in çevirileri şiirin içinde taşıdığı derinlikleri, imgeleri ve duygusal yükleri başarılı bir şekilde yansıtıyor. Okuyucuların Neruda'nın şiirlerini doğru bir şekilde keşfetmesine ve anlamasına, şairin sesini duymasına yardımcı oluyor. Usta bir şairden, kırk yıllık Neruda çevirmeninden başarılı bir çeviri.
Türkçe’de ilk kez 1954 yılında Afyon Dinar’da yayınlanan Nedret Gürcan’ın efsane dergisi Şairler Yaprağı’nda Canto General’den beş dize ile tanınmış. 1960’ta Enver Gökçe’nin çevirisi ile seçme şiirlerinden oluşan Türkçedeki ilk kitabı yayınlanmış. Hilmi Yavuz, Sait Maden, Nihat Behram, Ülkü Tamer, Cevat Çapan, Erdoğan Alkan, Metin Cengiz, Özdemir İnce, Erdal Alova gibi şairler Türkçeye çevirmiş şiirlerini. Bir anlamda şairlerin gözde şairi. Yirmiden fazla kitabı Türkçeye kazandırılmış. Her çeviri defalarca basılmış. Türkiye’de her zaman çok okunan bir şair olmuş.
Adnan Özer’in Pablo Neruda’dan kitaplaşan ilk çevirisi “Yeryüzünde Konaklama”nın yayın yılı 1984 (Alaz yay.). Adnan Özer kırk yıldır Neruda’nın şiirlerini Türkçeye çeviriyor. “Seçme Şiirler”, “100 Aşk Sonesi”, yılın çevirisi ödülü kazandıran “Evrensel Şarkı”, “Yirmi Aşk Şiiri ve Bir Umutsuz Şarkı” ve “Ayaklarına Dokunurum Gölgede” benim tespit edebildiğim Neruda’dan çeviri kitapları. Şimdi bu kitaplara “Sıradan Şeylere Övgüler” (Can yay.) eklendi.
Pablo Neruda, şiirlerinde doğa, aşk, politika ve insan ilişkileri gibi konuları işler. Şiirlerinde derin bir lirizm ve duygusallık bulunurken aynı zamanda güçlü bir politik ses de taşır. Onun şiirlerindeki güçlü imgeler ve duygu yüklü ifadeler, yoğun bir şiir zevki yaşatır. Okuyucuları kendi içinde bir keşfe çıkarırken aynı zamanda dünyayı ve insanın varoluşunu derinlemesine anlamalarını sağlar.
Politik olarak da aktif bir aydın olan Neruda, şiirlerinde toplumsal adaletsizliklere, baskılara, sınıf dayanışmasına ve insan haklarına duyduğu hassasiyeti dile getirir. Neruda'nın şiirleri hem duygusal zenginlikleriyle hem de güçlü siyasi mesajlarıyla geniş ve kalıcı bir etki yaratmıştır.
Pablo Neruda'nın "Sıradan Şeylere Övgüler" kitabı onun eserleri arasında farklı bir konumda. Neruda sıradan nesneleri ve doğal olguları konu ediyor bu kitaptaki şiirlerde. Özellikle, günlük hayatın içinde sıkça gözden kaçırılan detayları vurgulayarak şiir dünyasına yepyeni bir boyut katıyor.
Adnan Özer’in kitaba yazdığı önsözden öğrendiğimize göre Neruda bu şiirleri Venezuelalı şair ve yazar Miguel Otero de Silva’nın önerisi ile kaleme almış. Miguel Otero de Silva “El Nacional” gazetesini yönetiyormuş. Yakın dostu Neruda’ya gündelik dili kullanarak her hafta bir şiir yazmasını teklif etmiş. Böylelikle gazetenin okur sayısının artacağını düşünüyormuş. Zira 1950’lerde Pablo Neruda son kitabı “Evrensel Şarkı” ile tüm Latin Amerika’da tanınmış bir şairmiş.
Teklifi kabul eden Neruda gazetede coğrafya, bitkiler alemi, doğa, canlı varlıklar, cansız varlıklar ve soyut şeyler hakkında yazmış. Ayrılan yerin bir sütun genişliğinde olması planlandığı için kısa dizlerle yazmış şiirlerini. 68 şiir çıkmış ortaya.
Şiirin sadece yüce şeylerden kaynaklanmayacağını, her şeyin şiirinin yazılacağını göstermek istemiş. Havaya, enginara, kuşlara, yılan balığı çorbasına, yerdeki kestaneye, soğana, biraya, ipliğe, yağmura, mırıltıya, sayılara, saka kuşuna, ekmeğe, kol saatine, domatese, takım elbiseye övgüler yazmış.
Neruda "Sıradan Şeylere Övgüler" kitabındaki şiirlerde bu nesneleri ve olguları sadece yüzeysel olarak değil, içlerinde taşıdıkları anlamları ve insan deneyimine olan etkilerini de ele alarak övgü dolu bir şekilde işliyor. Neruda, gerçekçi fotoğrafçılardan farklı olmayan bir şekilde, günlük yaşamın tüm yönlerini şiirlerinde yakalamayı hedefliyor. Konusu canlı ya da cansız, atom ya da sinekkuşu olsun, Neruda onu birçok açıdan dikkatle ele alıyor ve onu ne süslemek ne de basitleştirmek, olduğu gibi yansıtmak istiyor. Bu yaklaşım, okuyucuyu sıradan gibi görünen şeylerin ardındaki derinlikleri düşünmeye ve hissetmeye yönlendiriyor.
İnsanın doğayla olan ilişkisini ve doğanın içindeki gizemleri keşfetme tutkusunu da yansıtıyor. Şair, doğadaki her şeyin bir bütünün parçası olduğunu ve bu parçaların birbirini tamamladığını vurgularken, aynı zamanda doğanın bize sunduğu güzellikleri ve dersleri de öne çıkarıyor.
Kitaptaki şiirler hem duygusal derinlikleriyle etkileyici hem de sıradanlıklarıyla herkesin kolayca anlayabileceği bir yapıda. Bu da Neruda'nın şiirlerinin geniş bir okuyucu kitlesine hitap etmesini sağlıyor.
Çevirmenlerin işi, sadece bir dilden diğerine kelime ya da dize aktarmak değil, aynı zamanda şairin sesini, niyetini, duygusunu ve estetik anlayışını da doğru bir şekilde iletmektir. Adnan Özer'in çevirileri şiirin içinde taşıdığı derinlikleri, imgeleri ve duygusal yükleri başarılı bir şekilde yansıtıyor. Okuyucuların Neruda'nın şiirlerini doğru bir şekilde keşfetmesine ve anlamasına, şairin sesini duymasına yardımcı oluyor. Usta bir şairden, kırk yıllık Neruda çevirmeninden başarılı bir çeviri.
October 15, 2024
Odas elementales de 1954, del escritor chileno Pablo Neruda, ganador del premio Nobel de literatura de 1971, contiene 68 poemas líricos estructurados mediante la oda, las que ensalzan, ennoblecen y alaban una realidad de objetos simples y pasajes cotidianos, puestos a la luz por medio de una voz con una imponente voluntad de exploración que interroga al medio en el que se encuentra habitando.
Iniciando con El hombre invisible y marcando la lectura por medio de la visita a las estaciones correspondientes, las Odas elementales proponen una inmersión en detalles, objetos, cotidianidades y estados del ánimo que convergen en una mirada del mundo que comprende lo particular encajado en una perspectiva colectiva y grupal que medita a lo largo del libro, acerca del sentido de convivencia y pertenencia que tienen los humanos con quienes les rodean y con qué lo rodea.
Fueron muchas las odas que me maravillaron, así que no va la lista de las preferidas por ser demasiado larga. Una lectura increíble.
Iniciando con El hombre invisible y marcando la lectura por medio de la visita a las estaciones correspondientes, las Odas elementales proponen una inmersión en detalles, objetos, cotidianidades y estados del ánimo que convergen en una mirada del mundo que comprende lo particular encajado en una perspectiva colectiva y grupal que medita a lo largo del libro, acerca del sentido de convivencia y pertenencia que tienen los humanos con quienes les rodean y con qué lo rodea.
Fueron muchas las odas que me maravillaron, así que no va la lista de las preferidas por ser demasiado larga. Una lectura increíble.
January 27, 2025
Adorable! Pablo Neruda's Odes to Common Things forces you to look more carefully at all of the objects in your home and kitchen. My favorites were the ode to a pair of socks and ode to scissors. The ode to an onion went HARD. Like, I thought I loved onions. I will delightfully add carmelized or pickled onions to anything. But he seriously loves onions. They were compared to Aphrodite's breasts. Most of the other odes were thoughful, subtle takes on an object's best qualities. But the ode to onions was like the chocolate guy from spongebob. Such intensity.
This edition was super cute. The poems were printed in both Spanish and English. High quality paper. Pencil illustrations.
I could have used a translator's note. I always read the translator's note and find it especially important for poetry.
Despite having stopped at his house in Chile, I actually don't really know anything about Pablo Neruda. I also would have liked an introduction.
This edition was super cute. The poems were printed in both Spanish and English. High quality paper. Pencil illustrations.
I could have used a translator's note. I always read the translator's note and find it especially important for poetry.
Despite having stopped at his house in Chile, I actually don't really know anything about Pablo Neruda. I also would have liked an introduction.
July 28, 2025
2016. Monsoon drumming on the windowpanes like some ancient percussionist with a gentle temper. The skies swollen with unshed tears, and I—curled up with Odes to Common Things by Pablo Neruda—let the world grow quiet.
This wasn’t just poetry. It was a benediction. Each ode, a whispered prayer to the unglamorous: a tomato, a pair of socks, a spoon. And in Neruda’s hands, these things weren't mundane—they were mythic. He lent dignity to the unnoticed, the way rain dignifies dust.
I remember one evening clearly—rain had just started, a crow had taken reluctant shelter on the parapet, and I was reading his Ode to Salt. Such wonder, such reverence for the elemental. I was stunned. It reminded me that poetry isn’t always about grand epics or tortured love; sometimes it’s in the seasoning, in the peel of an orange, in a bar of soap that lathers like memory.
The language was tender but never weak. There was a sort of muscular humility to it—Neruda loved the world fiercely, generously, without shame. I, too, began noticing more: the shape of my pen, the grace of slippers drying on the mat, and the steam rising from tea.
That monsoon, Neruda taught me to see. Really see. Not with the critical eye of a reader, but with the full-body attention of someone falling in love—with everything.
And honestly? I’ve never looked at a spoon the same way again.
This wasn’t just poetry. It was a benediction. Each ode, a whispered prayer to the unglamorous: a tomato, a pair of socks, a spoon. And in Neruda’s hands, these things weren't mundane—they were mythic. He lent dignity to the unnoticed, the way rain dignifies dust.
I remember one evening clearly—rain had just started, a crow had taken reluctant shelter on the parapet, and I was reading his Ode to Salt. Such wonder, such reverence for the elemental. I was stunned. It reminded me that poetry isn’t always about grand epics or tortured love; sometimes it’s in the seasoning, in the peel of an orange, in a bar of soap that lathers like memory.
The language was tender but never weak. There was a sort of muscular humility to it—Neruda loved the world fiercely, generously, without shame. I, too, began noticing more: the shape of my pen, the grace of slippers drying on the mat, and the steam rising from tea.
That monsoon, Neruda taught me to see. Really see. Not with the critical eye of a reader, but with the full-body attention of someone falling in love—with everything.
And honestly? I’ve never looked at a spoon the same way again.
February 24, 2019
Such a gorgeous collection of poems. I’m already excited to wear this book out. Neruda so beautifully illustrates ordinary things and redefines them as works of art— all while creating his own. I savored reading these— they made me smile, sometimes laugh, caused me to say “wow” at their conclusion. Reminds you to see everything in a beautiful spotlight.
February 4, 2016
Uno de los mejores libros que he leído. Te convertiste en una referencia para la creación poética, y por supuesto en uno de mis poetas preferidos, Neruda. Gracias por tanta belleza. Te releo con placer
July 31, 2015
Read odes to conger chowder, wine, tomatoes, maize, tuna, chestnut, artichoke, lemon, salt...sooo good! Couldn't believe such mundane things could be described so beautifully
July 1, 2021
Queste poesie evocano con una potenza disarmante, come in una magia, il sentore di terra ed erba umida.
September 19, 2018
Poetry-haters, please note: This is a review of a poetry book. As such, it contains quotations from poems. Read at your own risk! #sorrynotsorry
The word "Common" in this title is somewhat deceptive, as we often use "Common" in a derogatory manner to refer to things that are insignificant or even despicable. However, as these poems so beautifully remind us, common things derive their value in the same way uncommon things do... Through the significance placed on them by humans. A bowl, for example, handcrafted by a master potter, or given by a friend, or handed down through generations, becomes more than a bowl in the eyes of its user. As they take nourishment from the food placed in it, it's easy for them to remember or imagine the people and events connected with it in a way the imbues the simple object with meaning. And so, common objects become special when we take the time to appreciate the lives that have intermixed with their untold stories. Perhaps Neruda says it best in the opening Ode of this collection:
...glasses, knives and
scissors-
all bear
the trace
of someone's fingers
on their handle or surface,
the trace of a distant hand
lost
in the depths of forgetfulness.
-page 15
Of course- as with all great poetry- these odes are not only about the objects to which they are addressed. Ode to a pair of scissors, for example, is less about scissors and more about life experiences that bind us together and tear us asunder. I won't quote it here, because I'd basically have to include the whole poem, and I'm not that cruel to all my poetry-hating friends who are still reading even after the dire warning that began this review (brave, self-sacrificing souls!). Plus, it's more enjoyable if you experience the poem in its entirety, with the illustrations and the many line breaks, as published.
There are hints of Neruda's personal experiences and ideology in many of the odes. Perhaps the links would be more obvious to someone who has studied his work in detail, but this was my first experience reading Neruda and I knew next to nothing about his life. Honestly, I wasn't thinking much about how his personality might have shaped these odes until I encountered these lines:
O bread familiar to every mouth,
we will not
kneel before you:
men
do not
implore
unclear gods
or obscure angels:
we will make our own bread
out of sea and soil,
we will plant wheat
on our earth and the planets,
bread for every mouth,
for every person,
our daily bread.
-Ode to Bread, pages 124-125
It then goes on to explain how we will fight for bread, should it be taken away by oppressors. At this point, I was thinking two main thoughts:
1) "Whoops! Hadn't realized until this moment that I'd stereotyped him as being Catholic because he's from South America. Glad to know that's not the case. I wonder what his worldview actually was... Humanist, perhaps?" I resolved to look him up after I finished the book.
2) "Okay... So does bread stand for something more than just bread? Something essential to the survival of the human spirit, like bread is to the body (if you don't eat gluten-free, that is!)? Perhaps bread is freedom, or love, or net neutrality?" I decided that the last option could be ruled out by researching whether or not Neruda had ever traveled in a time machine, since he died in 1973, but that the other two might be hard to narrow down.
Then, I remembered these lines from a different ode, a few pages earlier:
And so the coming
of the new life
that,
fighting and singing,
we preach,
will be a coming of soup bowls,
a perfect panoply
of spoons.
An ocean of steam rising from pots
in a world
without hunger,
and a total mobilization of spoons,
will shed light where once was darkness
-Ode to the spoon, page 105
So, in at least one sense, it appeared that food analogies were actually referring to food. I know, it's shocking to me too. It's also shocking that I was looking for a meaning beyond food because I'm quite honestly obsessed with food. (The fact that one of the poems is about French fries made me so happy.) I think I missed it because I'm an American and hunger and poverty aren't things I'm forced to reckon with on a daily basis, so of course lines that talk about ending world hunger don't necessarily resonate with me as well as they might- or should.
When I googled Neruda, I also found that he was famously Communist, which explains the food analogies, as well as his propensity for seeing value in the ordinary and the various war references that are sprinkled throughout the poems (although he was also very involved in the Spanish Civil War and lived through both world wars, so those things would have influenced him too). After all, in Communist theories of his day, the working class- or "common people"- rising up against their oppressors were seen as the only hope for ending world poverty.
I end this review with my own poem, An Ode to Pablo Neruda that I made up on the spot, so bear with me:
When I think
of you,
of your life,
of your balding head
in your later years,
I think
of all
these things I know
because
I read
your odes
and
Wikipedia.
I think
it must have been
glorious
to live
before
the "Cold War"
grew hot
in tropical
Vietnam,
before the
Rwandan genocide,
before
9/11/2001.
It was not
improbable
for you
to think the
Holocaust
a fluke, that
Hiroshima
would bring
peace,
that evil
could be
vanquished through
ingenuity.
But I
do not live
in such
a world.
As such,
I think
I could never
convince myself,
as you did,
that the problems
were problems
with systems,
not people.
And yet
I admire
your idealism,
the way your words
are light,
mellow,
soft,
despite great evil.
We disagree
if people
can rid themselves
of poverty,
of hunger.
But we agree
humanity
was not made
for
a world of
emptiness and
despair.
Heaven is our
home.
We will reach it
or die,
still looking.
The word "Common" in this title is somewhat deceptive, as we often use "Common" in a derogatory manner to refer to things that are insignificant or even despicable. However, as these poems so beautifully remind us, common things derive their value in the same way uncommon things do... Through the significance placed on them by humans. A bowl, for example, handcrafted by a master potter, or given by a friend, or handed down through generations, becomes more than a bowl in the eyes of its user. As they take nourishment from the food placed in it, it's easy for them to remember or imagine the people and events connected with it in a way the imbues the simple object with meaning. And so, common objects become special when we take the time to appreciate the lives that have intermixed with their untold stories. Perhaps Neruda says it best in the opening Ode of this collection:
...glasses, knives and
scissors-
all bear
the trace
of someone's fingers
on their handle or surface,
the trace of a distant hand
lost
in the depths of forgetfulness.
-page 15
Of course- as with all great poetry- these odes are not only about the objects to which they are addressed. Ode to a pair of scissors, for example, is less about scissors and more about life experiences that bind us together and tear us asunder. I won't quote it here, because I'd basically have to include the whole poem, and I'm not that cruel to all my poetry-hating friends who are still reading even after the dire warning that began this review (brave, self-sacrificing souls!). Plus, it's more enjoyable if you experience the poem in its entirety, with the illustrations and the many line breaks, as published.
There are hints of Neruda's personal experiences and ideology in many of the odes. Perhaps the links would be more obvious to someone who has studied his work in detail, but this was my first experience reading Neruda and I knew next to nothing about his life. Honestly, I wasn't thinking much about how his personality might have shaped these odes until I encountered these lines:
O bread familiar to every mouth,
we will not
kneel before you:
men
do not
implore
unclear gods
or obscure angels:
we will make our own bread
out of sea and soil,
we will plant wheat
on our earth and the planets,
bread for every mouth,
for every person,
our daily bread.
-Ode to Bread, pages 124-125
It then goes on to explain how we will fight for bread, should it be taken away by oppressors. At this point, I was thinking two main thoughts:
1) "Whoops! Hadn't realized until this moment that I'd stereotyped him as being Catholic because he's from South America. Glad to know that's not the case. I wonder what his worldview actually was... Humanist, perhaps?" I resolved to look him up after I finished the book.
2) "Okay... So does bread stand for something more than just bread? Something essential to the survival of the human spirit, like bread is to the body (if you don't eat gluten-free, that is!)? Perhaps bread is freedom, or love, or net neutrality?" I decided that the last option could be ruled out by researching whether or not Neruda had ever traveled in a time machine, since he died in 1973, but that the other two might be hard to narrow down.
Then, I remembered these lines from a different ode, a few pages earlier:
And so the coming
of the new life
that,
fighting and singing,
we preach,
will be a coming of soup bowls,
a perfect panoply
of spoons.
An ocean of steam rising from pots
in a world
without hunger,
and a total mobilization of spoons,
will shed light where once was darkness
-Ode to the spoon, page 105
So, in at least one sense, it appeared that food analogies were actually referring to food. I know, it's shocking to me too. It's also shocking that I was looking for a meaning beyond food because I'm quite honestly obsessed with food. (The fact that one of the poems is about French fries made me so happy.) I think I missed it because I'm an American and hunger and poverty aren't things I'm forced to reckon with on a daily basis, so of course lines that talk about ending world hunger don't necessarily resonate with me as well as they might- or should.
When I googled Neruda, I also found that he was famously Communist, which explains the food analogies, as well as his propensity for seeing value in the ordinary and the various war references that are sprinkled throughout the poems (although he was also very involved in the Spanish Civil War and lived through both world wars, so those things would have influenced him too). After all, in Communist theories of his day, the working class- or "common people"- rising up against their oppressors were seen as the only hope for ending world poverty.
I end this review with my own poem, An Ode to Pablo Neruda that I made up on the spot, so bear with me:
When I think
of you,
of your life,
of your balding head
in your later years,
I think
of all
these things I know
because
I read
your odes
and
Wikipedia.
I think
it must have been
glorious
to live
before
the "Cold War"
grew hot
in tropical
Vietnam,
before the
Rwandan genocide,
before
9/11/2001.
It was not
improbable
for you
to think the
Holocaust
a fluke, that
Hiroshima
would bring
peace,
that evil
could be
vanquished through
ingenuity.
But I
do not live
in such
a world.
As such,
I think
I could never
convince myself,
as you did,
that the problems
were problems
with systems,
not people.
And yet
I admire
your idealism,
the way your words
are light,
mellow,
soft,
despite great evil.
We disagree
if people
can rid themselves
of poverty,
of hunger.
But we agree
humanity
was not made
for
a world of
emptiness and
despair.
Heaven is our
home.
We will reach it
or die,
still looking.
April 13, 2018
Book #13 for 2018
GenreLand: February - Poetry
The Legendary Book Club of Habitica's Ultimate Reading Challenge: A book with pictures
The Ultimate PopSugar Reading Challenge:
- Your favorite prompt from the 2015 PopSugar reading challenge (a book you started but never finished)
- A book by two authors
- A book recommended by someone else taking the PopSugar Reading Challenge
My Personal Reading Challenge:
- A collection of poetry in translation on a theme other than love
- A book in translation
Abandoned Book Rescue: Abandoned because you struggled with the language
While I Was Reading: Read a collection of poetry
Mt. TBR #8
Full House Bingo Square: New to you author from another country
Modern Mrs Darcy: A book of poetry, a play, or an essay collection
This was a fun and rewarding exercise. I'm not sure how much my Spanish improved, but it was a good experience. The illustrator, Ferris Cook, selected the poems for this volume, and I think it made for a great theme. Cook's illustrations were also very elegant, making this a real keeper of a book, one to have handy for the occasional dose of art in one's daily life, a celebration of the quotidian.
I know I am far from being an expert on -- or even reasonably conversant about -- Spanish-language poetry or the translation thereof, but I didn't much care for most of Krabbenhoft's translations. At least as translations. His poems were fine as their own things, but I felt like they didn't really match up with Neruda's odes. There were exceptions, though. It was actually such a stark difference that I thought at first that there were two different translators switching off throughout the volume. It will be interesting to re-read this collection occasionally to see if I can pinpoint the differences I perceived between the translations I liked and the ones I didn't.
I would highly recommend this collection to anybody who wants (or has been assigned) to read some poetry but is in the mood for something a little different from the usual. This bilingual format is also great for practicing Spanish or English. Even if your brain gets too tired to process the words, there are pretty pictures to look at.
GenreLand: February - Poetry
The Legendary Book Club of Habitica's Ultimate Reading Challenge: A book with pictures
The Ultimate PopSugar Reading Challenge:
- Your favorite prompt from the 2015 PopSugar reading challenge (a book you started but never finished)
- A book by two authors
- A book recommended by someone else taking the PopSugar Reading Challenge
My Personal Reading Challenge:
- A collection of poetry in translation on a theme other than love
- A book in translation
Abandoned Book Rescue: Abandoned because you struggled with the language
While I Was Reading: Read a collection of poetry
Mt. TBR #8
Full House Bingo Square: New to you author from another country
Modern Mrs Darcy: A book of poetry, a play, or an essay collection
This was a fun and rewarding exercise. I'm not sure how much my Spanish improved, but it was a good experience. The illustrator, Ferris Cook, selected the poems for this volume, and I think it made for a great theme. Cook's illustrations were also very elegant, making this a real keeper of a book, one to have handy for the occasional dose of art in one's daily life, a celebration of the quotidian.
I know I am far from being an expert on -- or even reasonably conversant about -- Spanish-language poetry or the translation thereof, but I didn't much care for most of Krabbenhoft's translations. At least as translations. His poems were fine as their own things, but I felt like they didn't really match up with Neruda's odes. There were exceptions, though. It was actually such a stark difference that I thought at first that there were two different translators switching off throughout the volume. It will be interesting to re-read this collection occasionally to see if I can pinpoint the differences I perceived between the translations I liked and the ones I didn't.
I would highly recommend this collection to anybody who wants (or has been assigned) to read some poetry but is in the mood for something a little different from the usual. This bilingual format is also great for practicing Spanish or English. Even if your brain gets too tired to process the words, there are pretty pictures to look at.
May 21, 2024
Me gustó mucho este libro de poesía. Dedicado a las cosas simples, a exaltar la belleza de las cosas simples; aquellas cosas que han estado y damos por centado que siempre estarán pero que cuando se marchan o faltan dejan un vacío muy grande.
Mis odas favoritas:
-El hombre invisible
-Oda al aire
-Oda a la alegría
-Oda al amor
-Oda a las aves del Chile
-Oda a la cebolla
-Oda a la claridad
-Oda al día feliz
-Oda al edificio
-Oda a la envidia
-Oda a la flor
-Oda al fuego
-Oda a Guatemala
-Oda al libro
-Oda a la lluvia
-Oda a mirar pájaros
-Oda a los números
-Oda a la pareja
-Oda al pasado
-Oda a la soledad
-Oda al tomate
-Oda a los poetas populares
-Oda al traje
-Oda a la tristeza
-Oda a César Vallejo
Mis odas favoritas:
-El hombre invisible
-Oda al aire
-Oda a la alegría
-Oda al amor
-Oda a las aves del Chile
-Oda a la cebolla
-Oda a la claridad
-Oda al día feliz
-Oda al edificio
-Oda a la envidia
-Oda a la flor
-Oda al fuego
-Oda a Guatemala
-Oda al libro
-Oda a la lluvia
-Oda a mirar pájaros
-Oda a los números
-Oda a la pareja
-Oda al pasado
-Oda a la soledad
-Oda al tomate
-Oda a los poetas populares
-Oda al traje
-Oda a la tristeza
-Oda a César Vallejo
February 28, 2024
What a perfect little collection of daily things. These poems allow us to see the magic and loveliness of the ordinary, all from an entirely beautiful and new angle. This is definitely something every poet…no, person must read.
January 22, 2023
me gusto mucha la oda al aire!!!
Read
September 13, 2023also read this for my class 😭 goddamn the tomato it’s basically like erotica for mundane objects but beautiful written
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