The Early Poetry of Pablo Neruda: A Study of Temuco as an Inspirational Source

Authors

James Krause, Brigham Young University
Dr. Ted Lyon, Brigham Young University

Keywords

Pablo Neruda, Temuco, poetry, Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto

College

Humanities

Department

Spanish and Portuguese

Abstract

Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto, whose pseudonym was to be Pablo Neruda, was born in the small Chilean town, Parral. His mother died two months after she gave birth to her son and two years later, Neruda’s father moved his small family to Temuco. After the Chilean military defeated the local Mapuche Indians, Temuco and the entire Araucano region was opened to settlers. With the extension of the railroad, Temuco soon became a bustling pioneer town. Many historians and literary experts have compared early 20th century Temuco to Frontier Oregon. Although Temuco was considered to be the “Far West” of Chile and was sometimes a dangerous place to raise a family, it proved to be the perfect environment to foster the poetic talent of Chile’s greatest literary export to the world—Pablo Neruda.

Recommended Citation

Krause, James and Lyon, Dr. Ted (2014) "The Early Poetry of Pablo Neruda: A Study of Temuco as an Inspirational Source," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2014: Iss. 1, Article 709.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2014/iss1/709