Media release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, 12 June 2013

Poems from the South at the Upper Hutt Library

Bring your lunch to a celebration of South American Nobel Prize winning poet Pablo Neruda at the Upper Hutt Central Library on Saturday 13 July.

UPPER HUTT, Wellington NZ, 12 JUN 2013—The Chilean community wants to share the fantastic achievements of poet Pablo Neruda by holding a celebratory lunch time event at the Upper Hutt Central Library.

Poems will be performed in both Spanish and English, with some being sung by the South American folk group, Los Andes.

Pablo Neruda died almost 40 years ago. According to Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez, Neruda was "the greatest poet of the 20th century in any language."

Born as Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto on 12 July 1904 in Parral, Chile, Pablo Neruda chose his pen name after Jan Neruda, a Czech poet. Pablo Neruda was also a diplomat and, for a short time, a politician. In 1971 he won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Neruda wrote in a variety of styles and across a range of themes including historical epics, surrealist poems, political manifestos, and autobiographical prose. His most widely known work is his collection of erotically-charged love poems, Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair (1924).

When Chilean President González Videla banned communism in 1948, a warrant was issued for Neruda's arrest, but he managed to escape to Argentina. Neruda later returned to Chile after winning the Nobel Prize.

Neruda was hospitalised with cancer during the 1973 coup d'état and died of heart failure on 23 September that year at the age of 69.

The event will be held from 12.00 – 1.00 pm at the Upper Hutt Central Library on Saturday 13 July. If you are interested in attending this free event or would like more information, please contact Cecilia Titulaer (in English or Spanish) on (04) 527 2132 or email settlement@uhcc.govt.nz

About Upper Hutt City Council

Upper Hutt City Council is the steward and custodian of Upper Hutt City, providing governance, infrastructure, and community services and resources, and promoting opportunity in the city for business, recreation, lifestyle, and leisure. Upper Hutt City is located 30 km north-east of Wellington City (41°07'34" S, 175°04'06" E) and boasts 70% of the region’s parks and reserves, along with state-of-the-art entertainment and leisure facilities.

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