The Heights of Macchu Picchu, Paperback

-The most important poet of the twentieth century--in any language.---Gabriel Garcia Marquez

-'The Heights of Macchu Picchu' is a poem of ascension. . . . In its final passages, Neruda's poetry jumps from a personal hope to a global one; from a poetry dealing with the poet's heart to a poetry centered on humanity's struggles.---BBC

-The Heights of Machu Picchu- has been called Pablo Neruda's greatest contribution to poetry--a search for the -indestructible, imperishable life- in all things. Inspired by his journey to the ancient ruins, Neruda calls the lost Incan civilization to -rise up and be born, - and also empowers the people of his time. This new translation by poet Tomas Q. Morin includes an introduction by Morin and Neruda's Spanish original.

I stare at the clothes and hands,
the carvings of water in a sonorous hollow,
the wall rubbed smooth by the touch of a face
that with my eyes gazed at the earthly lights,
that with my hands oiled the vanished
planks: because everything, clothes, skin, dishes,
words, wine, breads,
went away, fell to the earth.

Pablo Neruda (1904-73), one of the world's most beloved poets, was also a diplomat and member of the Chilean Senate. In 1970 he was appointed as Chile's ambassador to France; in 1971 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Tomas Q. Morin is a poet and translator and teaches at Texas State University.