Title page

Written by Pablo Neruda (1904-1973), whose original name was Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto, a Chilean poet, diplomat, and politician considered amongst the most important Latin American poets of the 20th century. Neruda began writing poetry at age 10, and was encouraged by the poet Gabriela Mistral, then principal of the school he attended. At age 20, with two books published, he had already become one of the best-known Chilean poets. In 1938 Neruda began work on a long poem, Canto general, which would literally translate to General song, an epic history of the Americas since the beginning of time from an Hispanic American perspective. In 1943, during a trip to Peru, Neruda climbed to the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu. He is deeply moved by the ruins and the landscape, eventually writing “The Heights of Machu Picchu.” Helmut Andreas Paul Grieshaber (1909-1981), or HAP Grieshaber, a German printmaker, preferred the medium of the woodcut. He was apprenticed as a book printer and typesetter, while at the same time he studied calligraphy. In 1932 Grieshaber began concentrating on woodcut techniques. He discovered his typical graphic style in the so-called ‘Reutlinger Drucke’, a style which is strongly influenced by medieval woodcut techniques. He also created artworks for public spaces, such as wooden reliefs, mosaics, murals and stained-glass windows. Published by Hoffmann und Campe.