Miguel Hernandez (NYRB Poets)

Miguel Hern¡ndez is, along with Antonio Machado, Juan Ram³n Jim©nez, and Federico Garc­a Lorca, one of the greatest Spanish poets of the twentieth century. This volume spans the whole of Hern¡ndez€s brief writing life, and includes his most celebrated poems, from the early lyrics written in traditional forms, such as the moving elegy Hern¡ndez wrote to his friend and mentor Ramon Sij© (one of the most famous elegies ever written in the Spanish language), to the spiritual eroticism of his love poems, and the heart-wrenching, luminous lines written in the trenches of war. Also included in this edition are tributes to Hern¡ndez by Federico Garc­a Lorca, Pablo Neruda (interviewed by Robert Bly), Rafael Alberti, and Vicente Aleixandre. Pastoral nature, love, and war are recurring themes in Hern¡ndez€s poetry, his words a dazzling reminder that force can never defeat spirit, that courage is its own reward.