Neruda, Pablo

the autograph letters mainly in French, written to the painter Paolo Ricci in Naples (mostly 1952-1953), in red, blue and green ink, about the private publication in Naples of Los versos del capitán and his love-affair with Matilde Urrutia, in which he discusses details about his exile from Chile, his love-nest with Matilde in Uruguay (illustrated with a map), his sojourn in Naples and Capri; Neruda stresses the need for secrecy, discusses securing the rights to "Capitan"  from his publisher Einaudi, provides a list of who should receive the dedicatory copies (including Matilde and their unborn child), sends him the text for the prologue for the book and the poem 'Epitalamio', makes alterations to the proofs, asking for a copy of his own, discusses a bust of Matilde; together with documents and correspondence in Spanish with the lawyer Dario Puccini in 1950, concerning his libel case against the Chilean Embassy and Il Tempo of Rome (one document granting Puccini power of attorney), with one later postcard-photograph of Neruda & Matilde inscribed by Neruda, and 2 further postcards signed by Neruda and others, a photograph of Ricci and Neruda's second wife Delia del Carril, together with letters by Matilde Urrutia ("Medusa"), Einaudi, Edwin Cerio and Stephen Hermlin

34 items in all, Neruda's letters 29 pages, 4to and 8vo (19 signed items in all), many with autograph envelopes, Rome, Mexico City, Nyon, Geneva, Genoa, Santiago, and 2 on in-flight KLM paper ("a bordo del avión"), "Datitla" (ie Atlantida in Uruguay) and elsewhere, 1950-1972, many on airmail paper, one letter (29 November 1951) rather faded, one letter apparently incomplete

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This is a remarkable collection dealing with an important period in Neruda's life, artistically, politically and emotionally. This is the time of his sojourn in Naples and Capri during 1952 and 1953, which saw the beginning of his relationship with Matilde Urrutia and the production of his book of poems, Los versos del capitán.

Paolo Ricci (1908-1986) was an Italian painter and communist living in Naples, who invited the poet and his mistress Matilde to stay with him during his exile from Chile (where the Communist Party had been proscribed), whilst his wife Delia returned home. Once in Naples, he soon received the offer of a villa on Capri, where he was able to live secretly with Matilde for the first time, and which also produced the 47 poems of Los versos del capitán. This retreat was later the inspiration for the film Il Postino. In July 1952, Neruda published in Naples, anonymously, by subscription and with Ricci's assistance, a limited edition of 44 copies of Los versos. The first copy was to go to Matilde, and the second copy was for "Neruda Urrutia" (without a Christian name), presumably their unborn child, of whom no mention was ever made. In his memoirs, Neruda described this as one of his most controversial books ("The poems were written here and there along my exile in Europe...The love for Matilde, the longing for Chile, the civil passions fill the pages of this book to be kept without the author's name for many editions").

In his first letter to Ricci, written from Nyon, Neruda talks about his need to write the book, stresses that no--one must know about his visit, and already discusses the possibility of finding a small house in Capri or Anacapri to stay with Matilde, mentioning discussions with Paul Eluard.  Later he gives Ricci the text of the prologue to Los versos and the penultimate poem ('Epitalamio') and requests typographical changes to the final poem 'La Carta en el Camino'.  He continually demands that various copies be sent to the ambassador Carlos Vassallo (for which he flew to Geneva to secure a copy himself), the German poet Stephen Hermlin and others.  He also arranges for Ricci to be paid 60,000 lire out of his own author's rights, and for the non-subscribers copies to be sold in Chile.

Neruda's retreat at Capri with Matilde Urrutia was an important point in his life.  It was later the inspiration for the 1994 film Il Postino, although the location and details were greatly altered.  This collection includes a post-card from Edwin Cerio, containing a ground-plan of 'Lo Studio', the villa he lent to Neruda and Matilde.  In one letter to Cerio, illustrated with hearts, he thanks him effusively for use of this retreat where he and "Medusa" stayed together for the first time ("nous croyons au Paradis après notre vie à Capri").  Later, in his memoirs, Neruda was to write: "for the first time we lived together in the same house. We could never be separate again. I ended up there to write a book of love, passionate and painful, (...) Los versos del capitán".  In a later letter, he writes about another love-nest, in Atlantida, 40 kilometers from Montevideo. This would also be a shelter for his clandestine love for Matilde, to which Neruda gave the name "Datitla".  Illustrated with a map, Neruda thanks Ricci for the publication of Los versos del Capitán and invites him to stay with him in Chile, and later reproaches him for not writing or responding to his payments

...après mon voyage je me suis réuni ici avec ma Medusa qui m'apporté le merveilleux livre.  Je n'avais pas vu.  Je te remercie mille fois.  Il est impressionant, tout est beau et singulier, les vignettes, je suis fou de joie, Medusa aussi...Nous avons volé à l'existence quelque jours ici dans une plage subtropicale.  Personne ne sait que je suis ici.  Des amis comme vous (Sarah!) il y a dans d'autres continents, c'est incroyable, mais c'est vrais..."

The legal letters and documents dating from Neruda's time in Mexico, deal with the charge of bigamy levelled at him at the instigation of the Chilean Embassy in Rome.  Neruda explains that the embassy had claimed that Neruda had been sued for bigamy, and this had been published in the Roman newspaper Il tempo on 2 March 1950. According to Neruda, the Chilean president, Gonzalez Videla (who had outlawed communism in 1948 and tried to arrest the poet), had induced his first wife Marta to make the baseless claim that their divorce had been annulled. Included is the power of attorney granted to Dario Puccini, so that he can deal with the legal proceedings that Neruda had asked him to start against the embassy for defamation.

Also included in this collection is a typescript of Neruda's sonnet 'Lo que siento al decir mi sentimiento', dedicated to Ambassador Carlos Vassallo (who is mentioned in the letters as a recipient of Los versos del capitán).