Luis Cernuda's relationship with the reading public was uneasy from the outset of his poetic career, that is, from the 1927 appearance of Perfil del aire (The Air's Profile), his first collection. Although some reviews of the book were encouraging, even enthusiastic, most were decidedly negative. Cernuda's reaction was bitter, though understandable in light of his already total commitment to his craft. Such an early and unflinching commitment also explains what was at times described as his fragile temperament and his unusual sensitivity to criticism. On the other hand, Cernuda was not only a most gifted poet but also a very acute reader of poetry--that of others as well as his own--perceptive enough to realize that his day would indeed come, as it undoubtedly did. José Angel Valente places him at the forefront of the Generation of 1927: "Two poets, the two greatest of their generation, already reside in...