Love Poems by Pablo Neruda

What's not to love about a book of love poems? Even better, a book of love poems by none other than Nobel Laureate and Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, with the original Spanish on the left page and the English translation on the right page? Our students ask me for books with love poems all the time -- sometimes they're looking for inspiration for writing their own poetry, and sometimes they're just looking for a poem that describes their own feelings, and they want to share that poem with someone special. When the opportunity to acquire class sets of poetry books for our English teachers came up last year, we recommended this title for the high school groups. It has been a big hit with students, who first fall for the design of the book (it must be about love, it's pink!, but it's also a little flashy and so small it's almost pocket-size), and then they find the poetry inside. This little book is filled with sensual language and beautiful imagery; students will certainly appreciate this particular resource during poetry units, but teachers may also wish to share this book with Spanish-speaking students, or integrate it into the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Neruda, Pablo. Love Poems. New York: New Directions, 2008.