Key Takeaways
One wide shelf
A single reading path can connect a modern novelist, a Nobel Prize poet, short Japanese forms, a famous Arabic classic, a major book platform, and one key law in Argentina (South America).
Short forms, big effects
Haiku and tanka can say a lot with very few words, and they pair well with longer, story-rich writers.
Rights still matter
Many beloved books and poems are protected by copyright, and Argentina’s Law 11,723 (Argentina, South America) is a clear example of how those rules are written and updated.
Story & Details
Isabel Allende in January 2026
Isabel Allende was born on August 2, 1942, in Lima, Peru (South America). As of January 2026, she is eighty-three. Her life has crossed borders and genres: journalism, fiction, memoir, and public work for women and girls. A major public profile from the Library of Congress describes her as a Chilean writer shaped by early life in Chile (South America) and later years in the United States (North America). [1]
The newest novel and how it landed
Her most recent novel is My Name Is Emilia del Valle (published in 2025). It follows a young journalist who moves through family secrets and political violence while trying to name herself on her own terms. Reviews have often praised its drive and emotional pull, even when they disagree on how surprising the story is. A long feature from ABC in Australia (Oceania) highlights the book’s mix of romance, history, and the author’s steady interest in love, loss, and time. [2] Reporting from the Associated Press also frames the novel as a way to bring under-seen voices into view, while linking its backdrop to Chile’s history (South America). [3] A review from The Guardian treats it as a vivid portrait of a young woman learning to stand alone in a hard world. [4]
The book she is writing now
At the same time, Allende has spoken openly about a memoir now in progress. It focuses on aging, the ending of a marriage, a long single period, and later-life love, using clear-eyed realism rather than gloom. That plan appears plainly in the ABC interview. [2]
A sensual side book: Aphrodite
Allende’s Aphrodite is not a novel at all. It is a playful, personal book about desire, food, and the senses, told through stories, lists, and recipes. On her official book page, it is described as a celebration of pleasure in both eating and love. [5] A classic trade review in Publishers Weekly also presents it as a lively defense of pleasure, with the same confident voice found in her fiction. [6] One bibliographic record often used in libraries describes a third edition published in Buenos Aires, Argentina (South America) by Debolsillo in 2012, with 336 pages and a 19 by 13 centimeter format.
Lori Barra and the work behind the scenes
The name Lori Barra appears not as a novelist or poet, but as a leader in cultural and social work. She is described by The Commonwealth Club as the executive director of the Isabel Allende Foundation, with a professional path that includes design work and art direction. [7] A short author note from The Sun adds a personal angle, calling her a graphic designer and linking her life between Brooklyn and the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States (North America), as well as ties to Chile (South America). [8]
A classic Arabic text: The Perfumed Garden
The Perfumed Garden is a much older work, widely described as a fifteenth-century Arabic text linked to Tunisia (Africa) and attributed to Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Nafzawi. It is often framed as a guide that mixes advice, stories, and claims about health and desire. A long-running reference page gives a plain overview of its origin, genre, and later translation history into English. [9] The tone can be explicit, yet the book’s historical role is also clear: it sits among older texts that tried to teach “how to live” through the body as well as the mind.
Short Japanese poetry: haiku and tanka
Two small forms help reset the pace after long novels and big histories. A haiku is a short poem, usually in three lines, often taught as a five–seven–five syllable pattern in English. Merriam-Webster’s definition is simple and direct, and it also notes the form’s deep roots in Japan (Asia). [10] A tanka is longer: five lines, often taught as five–seven–five–seven–seven. Merriam-Webster defines it in exactly those terms, as a compact but flexible form. [11]
Here are fresh, original examples written in English:
A haiku:
Cold window at dawn
One cup warms both hands slowly
Day starts without sound
A tanka:
Quiet street at noon
Footsteps fade, then come again
Clouds move like soft cloth
A small leaf turns in the wind
And the mind turns with it, too
A women’s anthology and one poet inside it
A Long Rainy Season: Haiku & Tanka (Stone Bridge Press, Berkeley, California, United States, North America) gathers short poems by Japanese women, edited and translated by Leza Lowitz, Miyuki Aoyama, and Akemi Tomioka, with a 1994 publication record listed by the Internet Archive. [12] One poet included is Yuko Kawano, a major tanka voice in Japan (Asia). A Japanese reference biography gives her birthdate as July 24, 1946, and her death date as August 12, 2010. [13] Commentary from The Haiku Foundation describes her as a well-known tanka poet in Japan whose work has been less visible in English translation. [14] In this anthology, her poems often feel like small windows: intimate, direct, and sharp with daily life, but still open to wider meanings.
Pablo Neruda, the author behind the odes and the love sonnets
Three famous poems stand out for their different kinds of praise: an ode to a fruit, an ode to a soup, and a love sonnet. The author is Pablo Neruda, born on July 12, 1904, in Parral, Chile (South America), and died on September 23, 1973, in Santiago, Chile (South America). The Nobel Prize site lists these core facts and places him firmly among the major poets of the twentieth century. [15]
“Ode to the Plum” and the art of praising small things
“Ode to the Plum” appears in Third Book of Odes (copyright 1957, credited to Pablo Neruda and his heirs). In this poem, the plum is treated as more than food. It becomes a small emblem of ripeness, color, and the quiet joy of something ordinary made vivid. The poet’s signature gift is clear here: everyday objects become worthy of full attention. Neruda’s life helps explain that voice: he was not only a poet but also a diplomat and public figure, and his writing often moves between the private and the public with ease. [15]
“Ode to Conger Eel Stew” and a kitchen that turns into a coastline
“Ode to Conger Eel Stew” appears in Elemental Odes (copyright 1954, credited to Pablo Neruda and his heirs). It is a poem about cooking, but it also feels like geography and memory. The dish becomes a meeting point of sea, heat, hunger, and home. A conger eel, as defined in the Cambridge Dictionary, is a long sea fish, powerful and snake-like. [16] Neruda’s biography matters again because the poem is not only about taste; it is about belonging, place, and a life lived close to the Pacific in Chile (South America). [15]
“Sonnet Twelve” and love as daily light
“Sonnet Twelve” appears in One Hundred Love Sonnets (copyright 1959, credited to Pablo Neruda and his heirs). The sonnets were written as love poems, and many readers return to them for their warmth and strong images. A national cultural reference in Chile (South America) documents a 1959 printing of the collection, anchoring it in its time. [17] Neruda’s larger story still echoes around the love poems: a writer who carried political history and personal longing in the same hands, and whose work remains central decades after his death. [15]
A book platform in Argentina
The site at megustaleer.com.ar leads into a major book ecosystem run by Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, tied to Penguin Libros in Argentina (South America). A corporate overview explains that the platform supports discovery and purchase of books in multiple formats, including digital reading and audio listening, and it also hosts editorial content for readers. [18]
Argentina’s Law 11,723 and what it protects
When poems and books are listed with years and with “the author and heirs,” those words are not decoration. They point to copyright rules that control copying, publishing, translation, and public use. In Argentina (South America), the main legal framework is Law 11,723, first enacted in 1933 and later amended. The official national text is published through a federal government portal, and an English version is also hosted in the World Intellectual Property Organization’s legal database. [19] The law helps explain why many mid-twentieth-century works still carry active rights notices, even when the author is long gone.
A short Dutch mini-lesson for daily use
Dutch can feel hard until a few small phrases become automatic.
A simple greeting: “Goedemorgen.”
Word-by-word: “goed” = good, “morgen” = morning.
Use: polite and normal in the morning.
A simple thank-you: “Dank je wel.”
Word-by-word: “dank” = thanks, “je” = you, “wel” = well.
Use: friendly and common; “Dank u wel” is more formal.
A simple question: “Hoe gaat het?”
Word-by-word: “hoe” = how, “gaat” = goes, “het” = it.
Use: everyday “How are you?” with a calm, neutral tone.
Conclusions
One shelf, many doors
A single reading list can move from a living novelist to a Nobel Prize poet, then into short Japanese forms, then back into the practical world of platforms and rights.
Small poems, big memory
Haiku and tanka can train attention. Odes and sonnets can widen it again. The rhythm changes, but the goal stays the same: to see more, and feel more, with fewer words.
Selected References
[1] https://www.loc.gov/item/n84145691/isabel-allende-2/
[2] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-07/isabel-allende-emilia-del-valle-love-death-magic-realism/105234170
[3] https://apnews.com/article/c78215b261073bf92ffbc2a5d875737a
[4] https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/sep/25/my-name-is-emilia-del-valle-by-isabel-allende-audiobook-review-portrait-of-a-fiercely-independent-young-woman
[5] https://isabelallende.com/en/book/aphrodite/summary
[6] https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780060175900
[7] https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2021-07-28/ending-child-marriage-nepal
[8] https://www.thesunmagazine.org/authors/8216-lori-barra
[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Perfumed_Garden
[10] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/haiku
[11] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tanka
[12] https://archive.org/details/longrainyseasonh0000unse
[13] https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B2%B3%E9%87%8E%E8%A3%95%E5%AD%90
[14] https://simplyhaiku.thehaikufoundation.org/SHv4n2/reviews/Fielden.html
[15] https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1971/neruda/facts/
[16] https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/conger-eel
[17] https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-72286.html
[18] https://www.penguinrandomhousegrupoeditorial.com/
[19] https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/legislation/details/21169
[20] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h_fSspH824
Appendix
Aphrodisiac
A substance, food, or idea believed to increase desire or pleasure; it can be treated as folklore, culture, or personal belief, depending on the context.
Conger eel
A long sea fish with a strong, snake-like body; it is used in cooking in some coastal traditions.
Copyright
A set of legal rights that protects creative work, such as books and poems, controlling copying, publication, and other uses for a set period.
Haiku
A very short poem often taught in English as three lines with a five–seven–five syllable pattern, aiming for a clear image and a quiet turn of feeling.
Memoir
A true-life book that focuses on parts of a person’s life, told with personal meaning rather than trying to cover everything.
Ode
A poem of praise, often addressed to a person, place, object, or idea, making the subject feel larger through attention and voice.
Platform
A place, often online, where people discover, share, or buy content; it can include books, audio, and reading guides.
Sonnet
A short lyric poem with a tight structure, often linked to love and reflection, built around a turn in thought.
Tanka
A Japanese short poem often taught as five lines with a five–seven–five–seven–seven syllable pattern, allowing more space than haiku for feeling and story.
World Intellectual Property Organization
A United Nations agency that hosts global information on intellectual property, including public databases of national laws.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 