Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda was not only one of the greatest poets in human history, but also a man of extraordinary insight into the human spirit \u2014 take, for instance, his remarkable reflection on what a childhood encounter taught him about why we make art, quite possibly the most beautiful metaphor for the creative impulse ever committed to paper.
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\nAs a lover both of Neruda\u2019s enduring genius and of intelligent children\u2019s books, especially ones \u2014 such as the wonderful illustrated life-stories of Albert Einstein and Julia Child \u2014 I was instantly smitten with Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People (public library) by Monica Brown, with absolutely stunning illustrations and hand-lettering by artist Julie Paschkis.<\/p>\n
The story begins with the poet\u2019s birth in Chile in 1904 with the given name of Ricardo Eliecer Neftal\u00ed Reyes Basoalto \u2014 to evade his father\u2019s disapproval of his poetry, he came up with the pen name \u201cPablo Neruda\u201d at the age of sixteen when he first began publishing his work \u2014 and traces his evolution as a writer, his political awakening as an activist, his deep love of people and language and the luminosity of life.<\/p>\n![\"neruda2\"](\"https:\/\/lavorare.net.br\/2015\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/neruda2.jpg\")
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