Please visit the 2011 giveaway page.

Karen Maezen Miller and Kelli Russell Agodon gave me the idea to give away TWO books in celebration of National Poetry Month.

It’s hard to give away books I like. That’s part of the reason I want to do it.

The Skinny on the Free Book Giveaway

I will pack up the book and send it to you at no charge. There will be two winners — one for each book. Leave your name in the comments. I will pick winners at random.

For the “book by someone else part,” I am giving away Pablo Neruda’s Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair translated by W.S. Merwin. This particular edition includes drawings (possibly ink and charcoal) of women every few pages between the poems. The small book will probably make you happy.

Verse collection by Pablo Neruda, published in 1924 as Veinte poemas de amor y una cancion desesperada. The book immediately established the author’s reputation and became one of the most widely read collections of poetry written in Spanish. The 20 love poems of the title poignantly describe remembered affairs with two women: a girl from the poet’s native town of Temuco and a classmate at the University of Santiago. The collection begins with intensity, describing sensual passion that slackens into melancholy and detachment in the later verses. The closing poem, “A Song of Despair,” hopelessly dwells upon bitter emotions. — The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

The second book is my own Midnight Voices. I will sign it for you and send it to you for Zero Dollars.

Remember to leave your name in the comments to enter this contest. I will choose a winner towards the end of April 2010.