A bilingual edition that makes available for the first time a substantial selection of Neruda's Elemental Odes, originally published in Spanish in three volumes. The Odes were written in the mid-fifties when Neruda was at the height of his powers, and are explorations and celebrations of man's relation to the natural and man-made world. They are straightforward and immediate and are considered his most approachable and popular work. 67 odes are printed in this volume of which about a dozen have appeared (in different translations) in English collections of Neruda before.