Alturas de Macchu Picchu / Heights of Macchu Picchu

Pablo Neruda’s Alturas de Macchu Picchu / Heights of Macchu Picchu, as translated by poet David Young, is a new look at Neruda’s long narrative poem, originally featured as Book 2 of his monumental Canto.

David Young’s new translation sensitively captures the journey of Neruda’s persona through the ruins of the Inca city, Machu Picchu, the high ground where the Inca tribe endeavored to escape the conquest of Spanish invaders.

In the 21st Century, where high ground seems less and less accessible and our escapes less possible, Young’s translation and the drawings accompanying the canto reaffirm the value and resonance of Neruda’s poetry.