Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair (Spanish: Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada) is a collection of romantic poems by the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, first published in 1924 when Neruda was 19. It was Neruda's second published work, and made his name as a poet.
Veinte poemas was controversial for its eroticism, especially considering its author's very young age. Over the decades, Veinte poemas has become Neruda's best-known work, and has sold more than a million copies. The book has been translated into many languages; in English, the translation was made by poet W. S. Merwin.
Francisco Luis Bernárdez (October 5, 1900 – 1978) was an Argentine poet, born in Buenos Aires.
He lived in Spain from 1920 until 1924, where he read the modernist poets that influenced in his first books, and he also worked as a journalist in Vigo.