Pablo Neruda my be well-known for his romantic poetry, but he was also a very political pot. How could he not be, living through the military coup and becoming the Chilean ambassador to France for the newly elected government of Salvador Allende.
Stones of the Sky was published three years before Neruda's death and only one year before he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. This translation by James Nolan first appeared in 1987.
Stones of the Sky is not just a translation; it is actually a bi-lingual edition. The original version of each poem faces its translation, which is great for those who prefer to read poems in their original language, yet are interested in how faithful a translation Nolan has accomplished.
As you might surmise from the title, many of the poems in this collection deal with stones precious or base. Neruda writes about stones as one of the essentials of life. Stones play an important role, and his duty is to explain their role to us, the readers.
The poems are untitled, merely numbered, which is interesting to note. In most poems, the title will give a clue to the "moral" of the poem. But Neruda chooses to allow us to discover for ourselves what we feel is most significant in each poem.
I can't let this review pass without giving you a taste of what wonderful poetry lies within, so I will leave you with these lines from poem "XVII":
But man cannot master this lesson,
the lesson of stone:
he tumbles, his body crumbles,
his word and voice unravel.
Fire, water and tree
steel themselves:
dying, they seek a mineral body
and find the road to glory:
steady, the stone shines
like a hard new rose.
