"Neruda's lyricism wakes us up, even in the face of death, to the connections we have with our land, inner and outer."--Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Neruda's lyricism wakes us up, even in the face of death, to the connections we have with our land, inner and outer."--Los Angeles Times Book Review

The first authorized English translation of Aún, considered among Neruda's finest long poems.

More aware than ever of his imminent death, these 28 cantos--written during two intensely lyrical days--launch the poet on a personal expedition in search of his deepest roots. It is a soaring tribute to the Chilean people, their history and survival that invokes the Araucanian Indians, the conquistadors who tried to enslave them, folklore, the people and places of his childhood and the sights and smells of the marketplace. As in the best poetry, Neruda's particulars become profoundly universal. With an introduction by William O'Daly.