AN IMAGINARY AFFAIR is a book of poems is in response to the poems of Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda's poems. It is more than a conversation with Pablo Neruda, the book unveils my life experiences including love, desire, trauma, and gratitude for life. The poems are sensual and an intimate celebrating what lives in a woman's heart.
AN IMAGINARY AFFAIR is a book of poems is in response to the poems of Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda's poems. It is more than a conversation with Pablo Neruda, the book unveils my life experiences including love, desire, trauma, and gratitude for life. The poems are sensual and an intimate celebrating what lives in a woman's heart.
Poem: The Unfolding
An Imaginary Affair by Diana Raab is an original chapbook written in response to the poetry of Pablo Neruda. With a particular focus on love, Raab’s poetry is a tribute to a superb poet, loved and enjoyed by many.
As a standalone collection, Raab’s work could be stronger with only a few standing out in both imagery and voice, and so the reader will enjoy this collection best if read alongside the poems by Neruda that Raab cites in the final pages.Â
Raab’s style is simple yet expressive and while this often gave way to clichés and repetitive imagery, the poems which are clear in their response to Neruda’s voice were wonderful to read. Poems like ‘Haunted Beginnings’ and ‘Why Are You Sad?’. Open and maintain the conversation Raab imagines she is having with Neruda. The imagery is responsive yet original and I loved the idea of one poet delving into the psyche of another.Â
There is undoubtedly potential in Raab’s individual style too as the poems ‘Please Be Still’ and ‘Lonely Death’ offer a vulnerability many readers will find comfort in. Unfortunately, however, the depth I found and felt in these poems felt scarce elsewhere in this short collection, with many lacking memorability and the ability to stand as poems without the company of Neruda’s work.
As noted at the beginning though, I believe the best way to enjoy Raab’s work would be in tandem with Neruda’s. There is the question of if this makes the chapbook somewhat inacessible but if you are able to read Neruda as a companion to this, I’d recommend it. Raab’s idea is fantastic and is a process I’m sure many of us would love to embark upon with our favourite writers. Perhaps Raab’s poetry will inspire you to delve deeper into the literature and the voices which have always moved you.Â