A major Spanish poet of the Generation of '27, Jorge Guillen's luminous poetry is marked by nobility of mind, balance, and clarity of vision. Among his major themes are "this Planet Earth, " love, friendship, and the pleasures of language or art, but also cruelty and humankind's stupidity and destructiveness. During the Spanish Civil War, Guillen went into voluntary exile and spent many years in the U.S. before he returned to Spain after General Franco's death. Many of these poems were written in America and grew out of his experience as an exile and immigrant, his encounter with Spanish America and with Spain in America. They provide insights into our shared culture that are fresh and relevant today.