A Longing Love Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto, better known by his pen name Pablo Neruda, was born in a small town in Chile on July 12, 1904. Neruda’s mother passed away soon after his birth, leaving him to be raised by his father, José del Carmen Reyes Morales. Shortly after, Morales remarried and moved to Temuco, Chile. Neruda was then introduced and taken under the wing of Gabriela Mistral, a prominent poet-diplomat during the time. Through her nurturing and tutoring, the 1945 future Nobel Prize winner unknowingly sculpted the 1971 Nobel Prize winner. From an early age, it was blatantly clear that Neruda had natural talent for writing poetry. According to Nobelprize.org, Neruda began to contribute poems to his local newspaper, the daily "La Mañana,” when he was only thirteen years old. Within the next three years, Neruda would advance to writing poetry in the literary journal "Selva Austral” (“Pablo Neruda - Biographical”). Neruda used these opportunities as stepping stones to publish his own book Crepusculario in 1923 and his most well-known and translated collection of works: Twenty Love Poems and A Song of Despair. Not only was Neruda a prominent poet, he was also a politician for varying parties over the years, including honorary consulships around the world. Following the Spanish Civil War, Neruda developed strong political feelings and association with the Republican Party. He voiced his political opinions and ideas through his poetry, creating more and more