Pablo Neruda (Ricardo Neftalí Reyes Basoalto)
Ricardo Neftalí Reyes Basoalto started writing young, and his poetry was published by the tender age of fourteen! Although most parents would be proud, Ricardo’s father literally lit his son’s poetry on fire when he found out. After that, Ricardo used the pseudonym “Pablo Neruda,” Pablo for Paul Verlaine and Neruda for Jan Neruda, both writers. Later in life, Pablo Neruda became his legal name.
