Neruda: The Biography of a Poet

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, influential, and controversial 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, with the language of erotic love, as well as misogyny.

Neruda: The Biography of a Poet is the product of fifteen years of research by Mark Eisner, writer, editor, translator, and documentary filmmaker. The book vividly depicts Neruda’s monumental life, potent verse, while examining his ardent belief in the “poet’s obligation” to use poetry for social good. It also bravely provides the context to best understand and evaluate Neruda’s darker behavior.

In a novel fashion, the book 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 thus 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. This creates a book that animates Neruda’s riveting story in a new way–one that offers a compelling narrative version of Neruda’s life, undergirded by exhaustive research, yet designed to bring this colossal literary figure to a broader audience, through an unflinching, through biography that reads like novel.