Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basualto, more commonly known as Pablo Neruda, began his widely renowned career in poetry as a young boy. Neruda was born July 12, 1904, in Parral, Chile and later moved to Temuco, in southern Chile. Neruda's father was a railway employee and Neruda's mother died only two months after his birth. His father remarried. Neruda spent his childhood surrounded by the beautiful nature typical of southern region of Chile. Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basualto, changed his name to Pablo Neruda as a pet name that was named after his favorite Czech poet Jan Neruda. Neruda sought this pet name so that his parents would not know or recognize their son's input in poetry, which they frowned upon. .
According to Isabella Sobejano, author of "Author, Poet, Thinker, Chilean Politician and Diplomat," she stated that on her visit to one of three homes Neruda had, the majority of his time was writing and living in Isla Negra (meaning Black Island). Isla Negra is a very small town located about two hours from Santiago, the capital city. This house was built on a cliff overlooking the tempestuous Pacific Ocean (p 20). "Here I Love You" is one of twenty poems written in 1924, from Neruda's second collection titled "Veinte Poemas de Amor y Una Canción Desesperada" (Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair). This collection triggered Neruda's poetic career to sky rocket and to become one of the most surrealist poets of the 20th century. With the publication of Twenty Love Poems, at 20, Neruda became a national celebrity, and was given a diplomatic post by the government; a recognition of his position in Chilean culture. Inspired by sadness and separation, the poet Pablo Neruda confronts his loneliness and lust for his wife, a lost love.
Neruda loved the sea, and it became one of the most important symbols in his poetry. Neruda lived by the sea at Isla Negra, where he spent most of his time at.
