Mark Eisner, who edited "The Essential Neruda", has been working on a project for years now to create a film about Pablo Neruda:

The Poet's Calling:


"Pablo Neruda was raised in the cold rain of Chile’s southern frontier just above Patagonia at the beginning of the 20th Century. From that green earth, the constant rain, the ancient forests and snow-capped volcanoes, Neruda grew to be a true public poet, a statesman, activist, and Nobel Laureate. He attained mythic stature in his lifetime. An incurable romantic, incorrigible womanizer, and a militant communist who despite his pacifism supported Stalin even after he knew of the crimes, his contradictions found poetic expression in an aching lyricism and potent political verse. He invented a new poetic voice, distinctively Americano, rooted in Latin America’s native cultures and untamed geography. Neruda wrestled poetry down from the rarified atmosphere of the salon and gave it to the people, a communal voice rooted in oral tradition, fired by raw passion and the struggle for justice.

“Poetry is like bread,” he wrote. “It should be shared by all, by scholars and peasants, by all our vast, incredible, extraordinary family of humanity"."

Read more: www.redpoppy.net/pablo_neruda.php

Much more funds are necessary, so if anyone has an idea how to raise more funds, or is willing to donate, Mark & his team will be delighted!

Mark Eisner is also the writer of a biography on Pablo Neruda that will be published by W.W. Norton. The release date is planned for Fall 2008.