Pablo Neruda was born on July 12th 1904 in Parral, Chile and died on September 23rd 1973 in Santiago de Chile. His real name was Neftalí Reyes Basoalto and, besides being a poet, he was a translator and a diplomat. He won the Nobel Prize of Literature in 1971 and his writing has strongly influenced Latin American writing and acquired universal value. He wrote one of Chile’s most varied and rich literary works.

He wrote a self portrait titled Autorretrato and it is a very rich source of Spanish language learning. Read it out here.

You can also listen to and read Neruda’s acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize here

Here are some of his quotes:

“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way.”

“Love is so short, forgetting is so long.”

“A child who does not play is not a child, but the man who doesn’t play has lost forever the child who lived in him and whom he will miss terribly.”

“And one by one the nights between our separated cities are joined to the night that unites us.”

“You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.”

See you next time!