Begun in 1939, barely four months after the close of the Spanish Civil War, these poems by the Nobel Laureate poet Vicente Aleixandre were written during a period of hardship and despair. In spite of his surroundings Aleixandre created the splendor of the shadow of a lost paradise that consisted of memory, nostalgia, yearning and illusion. This is the first full English version. The original Spanish text is included.

Vicente Aleixandre (1898-1984) was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1977. Hugh A. Harter is Professor Emeritus of Modern Languages at Ohio Wesleyan University.

"A radiantly beautiful book of poems. . . . In Harter's careful translation the yearning for total, line-for-line fidelity is happily balanced by the impulse to interpret."—Latin America in Books

"Harter is highly successful in reproducing the text's unique qualities. . . . A fine reading of Aleixandre's text that is both inviting and coherent."—ALEC (Anales de la Literatura Espanola Contemporanea)

"An intensely visionary collection. . . . Written at a time of both personal loss and historical tragedy, this volume effectively blends themes of innocence and sensuality with a longing for transcendence of pain."—Frank Allen, Library Journal

"Poems like 'The Poet' and 'Body and Soul' ring with a sad beauty that places Aleixandre alongside Antonio Machado and Federico Garcia Lorca as one of Spain's greatest poets."—The Bloomsbury Review