Customer Reviews (10)

The greatness of Rilke
What is there in Rilke's poetry which speaks to us, and makes us wish to know it in a deeper way?
Perhaps it is the mysterious philosophical questioning which seems to touch upon his every sense apprehension. It is as ifthe world itself is becoming a metaphor in Rilke and reading itsimply by looking at it or listening in it is transforming it into something more mysterious and more beautiful.
We want to walk down ordinary paths in our lives. But we too want to be surprised by new ways of speaking and thinking and making meaning.
Rilke gives us a feeling of always providing something more than is visibly or audibly immediately present. Reading his poetry is like being on a kind of journey in which one longs to reach the next point only to feel that one is going on without end to a place one does not know.

Rilke was WORD
I'm very sorry to disappoint readers at this point. But as I see it, there is practically no way to translate Rilke into English. This book here does it - but Rilkes poems nevertheless are reduced almost to zero.
Rilke wrote in German. Like only very few other poets known throughout history, he was able to discover shades of German words and was able to put them in a way that in short, concrete lines and pictures entire feelings of our culture, our history and the intrinsic beauty of German language came to life.
English is an entirely different language, it also belongs to a different cultural and historic background. And while in German many words have magnificent many shades of meanings, English is constructed in a way, that there are some number of words for one German word - but each word meaning exactly ONE thing, not many. And because of this intrinsic difference in language and culture, I am convinced, that it is absolutely impossible to carry Rilke into the English language.
Besides language differences, there is also something, that I find to be specifically German, which is something that the English language doesn't even have a word for, and which is "Gemuet".
It's a state of feeling and calm intensity in experiencing, something that I have never discovered in people or literature anywhere else but in Germany. And I believe, it cannot be communicated through another language.

This book therefore can be used to see, what topics Rilke wrote about.
In order to understand him, though, one has to learn German.

The Translator as a Lense and Filter =b
I haven't read as many different translations of Rilke as I would like and my German is minimal (though improving). That said, I find Bly's translations heartbreakingly beautiful. How much of this is Bly himself and how much is Rilke is, I suppose, what is up for debate. If, studying further translations, I find it necessary to call thisbook more a co-authorship than a literal translation I don't think that would be any kind of slight on either author. Translation is deeply associated with interpretation. Language and meaning are personal so each translation, quite properly shows as much of the translator as the author. The style that I associate with Rilke - the simplicity and the inexpressable depth - comes through very very clearly in these poems. The flavour of them seems more right to me than in most other translations I have read. I only skimmed a few of the reviews here but if indeed there is a debate raging about the job of a translator some people might enjoy reading Douglas Hofstadter's book Le Ton Beau de Marot. It's an interesting examination of the difficulties and delights of translation (with a focus on poetry) inspired and informed by his work with translators of his better known work, Godel, Escher, Bach. Scholarly bit said, Bly's translations grabbed me the moment I read them and I consider this book one of my most precious possessions. And Bly, I think, gains himself some artistic license (more than he would have otherwise...) by including the German so that a passionate reader with some knowledge of German can evaluate his translations for his or herself. Sorry for the rambliness of this.

Interpretations, not translations!
I've just unearthed my copy of Bly's so-called translation of Rilke, and have tossed it into the box headed for the used-book store. I can't understand why Mr. Bly calls his many efforts with other poets' works "translations," when they would be most generously described as free interpretations.(He's done a similar disservice to Lorca, and I shuddered when I saw that he's now ventured into Arabic with his most recent volume... ) I guess it's nice to see that some readers find them appealing; to me, though, many of them seem to willfully discard the poetic elements which make them great in the original! I completely agree with a previous reviewer, who praises the Mitchell translation, which is brilliant.Translating poetry is a dangerous business, particularly when the translator has deep feelings about the texts-- the temptation to "help" the reader is too great for some people. Unfortunately, their personal interpretations may not be at all what the poet had in mind! ( For more along these phiosophical lines, read Kundera's "Testaments Betrayed," which gives some fascinating -- and horrible -- examples of Kafka translations by his most devoted disciples.) If you love Bly, by all means look on these as his loving, if misguided, re-writing of some of his favorite poetry. If you're interested in Rilke, go with Mitchell.

Important if not precise translation
Many of the complaints about Bly's translations are justified.Even as one who does not read or write German, I can look over at the original german text and see that the translations lack a good deal of precision.It would be easy to conclude from this that Bly takes too many liberties, or as some have assumed, that he had too poor an understanding of the German language

I have read most of Bly's writing (poetry, prose, and translations),and I certainly believe that he has contributed immeasurably to the existence of poetry in the English language.He has championed many important poets (many non-Americans) and revealed them to those like myself who are sadly the victims of typically American multi-linguistic laziness.If not his translating ability, I definitly complement his taste.

But there is more to Bly's seemingly "bad" translations then most reviewers have touched upon.The first thing that should be known is that Bly's taste for language differs from that of many poets.It probably differs a good deal from Rilke's sense of poetic language.Bly likes simple words and relatively straight forward talk, language that could be spoken "on the farm", as it were, wisdom that is not dressed up in philosophical, intellectual, or academic language, something "downhome."It is probably a good thing, because his prose is generally vague, suggestive rather than demonstrative, and prone to metahporical "leaps" that can and have frequently left readers saying, "Huh?"If his prose was academic on top of this it would be nearly unreadable.

This preference for downhome language is not precise for translation or true to Rilke's original.Rather, it is true to Robert Bly's "Blyness," a quality which his readers, love it or hate it, must adapt to should they care to keep reading.Yes, the Blyness can be irksome, but I have a healthy amount of respect for it, because, although he is sometimes a cranky old geezer, Bly does seem to me one of the truly "wise" Americans of our time.I trust his wisdom to locate and understand the resonance of meaning in the poems of Rilke, who strikes me also as wise in the same kind of way Bly does.In fact, I trust Bly to "understand" Rilke better than I trust anyone else to.So, Bly becomes less a translator and more an interpretor of Rilke, crystalizing his meanings and associations.He stands more on the side of the truth of such meanings and intentions than on the side of the beauty and artistry of Rilke's poetics.

Obviously, Bly has been greatly influenced and changed by his "experience" of Rilke's poetry.So, what we are getting with this book is a portrait of Rilke cast in the fleshed out colors of Bly.This endangers the reader in the swampland that comingles the two, but it is not specifically a bad thing.Rilke, in Bly's translation, often becomes more clear to the American mind.Bly does not betray the spirit of Rilke.I beleive he honors it by consuming it into his own being and allowing it to be channeled through him.

This may not be the best translation, but I still found the poems deeply moving and Rilke's grasp of the unconscious, of God, and of the human psyche to be overflowing with genuine vision.The translation did not disfigure for me the place Rilke deserves in the Pantheon of the earth's greatest poets.Bly's translation is not a bad place to start with Rilke's writing, nor is it a bad place to finish.Ultimately, it is illuminating, and for that reason, I think of it as successful.But read other translations as well, if these poems intrigue you.Rilke has endless riches to bestow to any reader ready to listen. ... Read more

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The insights here are of such depth, and contain such beauty in them, that time and again the reader must pause for breath.At last Rilke has met a critic whose insight, courage, and humanity are worthy of his life and work."
—Leslie Epstein Director, Graduate Creative Writing Program, Boston University

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Generally regarded as the greatest lyric poet of modern Germany, Rainer Maria Rilke has long been one of America's most popular foreign-language authors. This book is a selection of 60 poems taken from one of Rilke's best-known works, the two-volume New Poems, written from 1903 to 1908. Each poem is printed in English translation opposite the original German version and is illustrated with a delicate pencil sketch by Ferris Cook that echoes the imagery of the poem. 60 illustrations. ... Read more

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Tracing the career of Rainer Maria Rilke, a definitive biography combines detailed interpretations of his life with an intimate reading of his verse and prose and shows how he grew from an ambitious versifier into a great poet.Amazon.com Review
Combining empathetic insight into the poet's life withintimate understanding of the poet's work, exhaustive research with astoryteller's flair, Freedman creates portraits of the young Rilkeliving out the poetic imagination, an older Rilke realizing hiscalling as one of the century's greatest poeticvisionaries,culminating in such works as the Duino Elegies andLettersto a Young Poet. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Fascinating Biography
Thia is an insightful account of Rilke's life. I felt that I knew Prague from the description alone.

a postcard of a church
Some biographers get inside the spiritual life of their subjects and are able to capture its intimate movements in such a way that the life takes on a magical coherence and wholeness. Others, less sympathetically endowed, are content to record external circumstances and events, with perhaps some brief overtures toward explaining inner motives and passions. One would think a poet of Rilke's fierce inwardness demands primarily the former form of biography - and he does - but the latter form also offers some interesting insights, especially for readers who might be unfamiliar with the milieu he lived and worked in. This biography is very much in the latter camp. Freedman's prose suffers from frequent bouts of groaningly bad academese ("His words adumbrate the divine tension between Word and World" - yuck!), but his narrative does give the imaginative reader some purchase on the shaping forces behind many of Rilke's most powerful works. The last few hundred pages are something of a slog since you know that felicitous insights into Rilke's inner life (and there are some) will be consistently overwhelmed by a rather distant-sounding reportage of his travels, housing troubles, and publishing concerns. For a poet whose mission was to transform external vicissitude into internal truth... the effect is something like viewing a postcard of a church. Rilke was notorious for flooding his lovers with passion before withdrawing from their intimacy, and in a way Freedman, who never really seems to get under Rilke's skin (although it it is clear he would like to), takes his place among those spurned souls.

messy
This is a sprawling, lazy account. It was moderately useful as a complement to Donald Prater's far more concentrated 'A ringing glass', but if I hadn't read that book first I wouldn't have formed much of a picture of Rilke's life. There are a few interesting stories found here which don'tappear in the other book, but on the whole it is totally inferior.

Life of a Poet:An Engaging Biography
Freedman does an outstanding job of chronicling the life of Rilke without an over-analytical style that so often plagues other artistic biographies.I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it to anyoneinterested in Rilke, the most important German-language poet since Goethe.

Extraordinary tale of an extraordinary man
This biography sensitively and thoroughly investigates the life of Rilke.We follow not only his life's events, but his intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and poetic development, all of which are closely intertwined.Freedman himself writes the tale so well--it is a pleasure to read!Thebook features plenty of photographs of Rilke, his family and friends. Rilke was a complicated and troubled man, but the wonder is seeing how outof such human frailties arose a transcendent body of work. ... Read more

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Las Cartas a un joven poeta comprenden un tramo cronologico fundamental en la evolucion intelectual de Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926). Convertidas desde su primera edicion en un clasico para todos aquellos que aman la escritura, y en particular la poesia, estas diez cartas tienen el gran valor de una reflexion acerca de los estados de animo, la soledad, el acto de la creacion y, sobre todo, la literatura en toda su dimension. Una seleccion de los volumenes liricos de Rilke Libro de las horas, Nuevos poemas, Elegias de Duino y Sonetos a Orfeo completa esta edicion. ... Read more

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First Norton Library Edition, letters of the famous poet. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent, if you can read a little German
This is the book that introduced me to Rilke, and I still find myself reading it 35 years later.Ms. Norton's translations are not themselves poetry, nor do they need to be.The originals are here; the English versions are accurate enough to let the reader do without a dictionary.What more do you really need?

There are no Duino Elegies here, nothing from "The Book of Hours", and none of the French poems, but "The Panther", "Spanish Dancer", and "Archaic Torso of Apollo" are included, so the novice need not fear missing out on all the famous stuff.

By the way, the book starts off with some rather disappointing juvenilia, too saccharine for me even when I was 15, but the rest of the poems demonstrate that it is unwise to dismiss a poet just because he or she wrote dreck in the high school literary magazine. ... Read more

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purchase and delivery of book
the book ordered was delivery promptly and was actually in better condition than I expected-I was very pleased with this transaction.

A" Must"
This is the most wonderful song ever written,.... without music.I carried it with me, through WW IIThe story is immortal.You deny yourself a lasting pleasure if you don't own this booklet ... Read more

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Composed in 1899 when Rilke was only twenty-three, the interconnected tales ofStories of God were inspired by a trip to Russia the young poet had made the year previously. It is said that the vastness of the Russian landscape and the profound spirituality he perceived in the simple people he met led him to an experience of finding God in all things, and to the conviction that God seeks to be known by us as passionately as we might seek to know God.

All the great themes of Rilke's later powerful and complex poetry can be found in theStories of God , yet their charming, folktale-like quality has made them among the most accessible of Rilke's works, beloved by all ages. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Forcefully honest insight into young Rilke's mind.
While this is certainly an interesting reading to fans of Rilke's poems and word plays, the nature in which this book was written made it more than a little rough for those used to Rilke's usual effortless passages. Personally, I love the lightness of being in Rilke's passages, being uttered in the most sensitive, but almost carefree fashion, while maintaining depth and thoughtfulness.

In this book, we witness a much younger Rilke at his most spontaneous: the short parts chronicle his conversations with the people whom he lived with at the time. The different parts tell different stories that he seemed to have improvised at the time. It's very charming to see Rilke's deft and quick observations in inspiration, and how he turns these inspirations into parables and short stories in real time. But the instantaneous creation of these parables robs thoughtfulness off of them, and a particular charm compared to Rilke's more thoroughly thought out writings.

"Letters to a young poet" drew its strength from Rilke's warmth and careful construction, comparable to "The notebooks of Laurids Brigge". This writing maintains the former but not the latter, and it's a pity that he never polished the writings at a later stage in life. The liner notes do mention the manuscripts of this writing having been lost at some point: a pity considering the promising strength of the material here, and the proof of what Rilke could have accomplished given more time to contemplate (for example, the hauntingly intense "Duino elegies" took many decades to write, with Rilke revisiting it again and again over time). It appears that one should view this as a sketchbook; an unfinished work of Rilke.

The Problems of Translation!
This endearing, wise little book is a must for all Rilke fans.Parables and fables, this book is a great companion to Letters to a Young Poet.Cozy and contemplative like sitting inside a room watching snow fall through a window, these stories are small miracles of faith and love anddevotion.However, this book reads much better in the German than it doesin this translation.I believe this is the only known English translationand it does not do Rilke's poetic prose justice.That is the problem withtranslation - the reader is a victim to the translator.Think of all thehorrible translations of Dante that existed before Charles Singleton tookthe poem into his hands.Or the Aeneid or the Odyssey before RobertFitzgerald.

Nonetheless, this is an important book for those who love thequiet that lies in-between the lines of Rilke's writing.Hopefully,someone like Stephen Mitchell will try their hands at this.We can onlyhope. ... Read more

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Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) worked for a time as Rodin's secretary. The sculptor's example lies behind the "new" bias of his poems of 1907-8. "Neue Gedichte" is his most accessible work. ... Read more

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An inspirational collection of poetry, based on the Book of Hours--psalms and prayers for various times throughout the day--used by monks, offers prayers and songs that address such concerns as spirituality in the modern age and the sufferings of war, poverty, and disease. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

Horrendous Translations
These translations are not faithful to the text and full of omissions Rilke never condoned. These translators are not translator; they are editors with a strong bias and specific agenda. If you are interested in reading Rilke for what he actually was, I would look into another translation. GREATLY disappointed with this edition. Rilke is one of my favorite poets and I wish I had never bought this book.

A Cringe Worthy Hijacking of Rilke

These translations are straight up ridiculous. The Book of Hours contains some of my favorite work by Rilke. Unfortunately, a majority of the translations that I have come across are mediocre at best but, this is a new low. The "mystic and spiritual teacher" and "clinical psycholgist" authors go beyond imposing themselves on the reader in this collection. They intentionally have changed and diluted these poems. Eliminating the burden of thinking by interpreting the meaning for the reader in order to make it fit the brand of transcendent mickey mouse spirituality and awareness that they aim to promote.

Glossing over meaning happens too often in poetry translation but with Rilke, who allows us to explore the importance of language, it is especially upsetting.

This marketing is apparent from the "Letters to God" in the title onward. Indeed, the way that his work in StudenBuch allows us to think about religion and worship is mind blowing. Reducing it down to some chicken soup for the soul interpretation is a crime. Rilke helps us appreciate the beauty of in solitude and feeling apart in the often dark, lonely, frustrations of life.

I hope to see a translation by Edward Snow someday. Who's translations in The Book of Images are unmatched.

Human beings are horribly warped by light
that drips from their faces,
and if at night they have gathered together,
then you'll see a wavering world
all heaped up at random.

Eternal Love Poems
Translation is always a difficult craft. In many places throughout this book it is clear the translators struggled - hurdles they in part admit in the introduction. For those of us who do not have a head for languages, it would be almost impossible to refer to the original German text. Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy have produced an excellent rendering of one of the world's greatest classical spiritual poets. I found the titles in German irritating without their own line of translation, but, I am reliably informed by an English/German scholar that the English translations of the verses are more than good. Rilke has a breathtaking approach to God - a deeply spiritual intimacy - through poems that are essentially prayers, but prayers that certainly don't conform to any 'normal' liturgy. Reading more than one a day would be too much for me. Reader be warned - the maturity of these prayer/poems can be deeply moving to the soul.
(Br Graham-Michael)

A Travesty not worthy of Rilke's name
This "translation" is nothing of the sort. I am a life-long Rilke admirer and a German and English speaker, and without a doubt this is one of the most tendentious translations I have ever seen published of a major poet's work. How did they get away with this?! The diction of the poems alone makes clear that you are not really reading Rilke at all, but rather some half-baked politically correct "Hallmarked" shadow collaboration. Shame on the authors for making such a book and the publishers for having the chutzpah to publish it.

The Amazon write-up from the Library Journal says it all: "Barrows and Macy, accomplished poets who were born into the Judeo-Christian tradition but who have also embraced Buddhism, have carefully translated 80 of the 135 poems in the original Stundenbuch, culling some poems they felt to be weaker or less relevant to a late 20th-century reader and artfully reducing other poems to their essentials. Thus, this treasurable collection is a collaboration among three poets..."

Seriously???

Do yourselves a favor... order the Deutsch (last name of the author), Kidder, or Ranson translations. They are, in every case, much, much better.

Irish Jersey Girl Reading Rilke
I read poetry in different voices in my head.I hear the best poetry in the Irish brogue of my Grandmother. I hear the worst in my native New Jersey accent.This translation of my beloved Rilke had "Trenton" written all over it. I'll be returning it and looking for another volume translated by Edward Snow. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

An Absolutely Gorgeous Book
This was my first introduction to Rilke, and what a gorgeous pairing! Letters to a Young Poet is a beautiful compliment to Rilke's poems in The Possibility of Being.I appreciated the Forward and Introduction, where the reader is given some background on the author and the conditions under which the Letters were composed.Rilke is eloquent and powerfully direct in his letters, speaking not only to a student, but to generations afterward.Still quite relevant and inspiring for anyone wishing to authenticate themselves through art, this book is a gem and one I will often come back to.

book arrived fast
For me it is important that the purchase arrives fast and in the conditioned it was offered or better. This seller gave me both requirements as expected. I had a great experience.

Good poems and good advise
The poems from 1902 to 1926 reveal a poet at the top of his lyrical form.Rilke does not shy away from the hard topics in poems such as in "The Widow's Song' ("I didn't know what life could be-- it was nothing but years quite suddenly, with no kindness or wonder or novelty, as though torn in two pieces there.". and "What will you do, God (I'm distresses")?" Perhaps he had learned his directness and objectivity from association with the sculptor Rodin.Perhaps a favorite and most famous poem is included here the Panther "His gaze those bars keep passing is so misted // with tiredness, it can take in nothing more."

In his letters from 1903 to 1908, he is equally direct, not offering "feel good" advice, but rather asking direct questions about the need for inner searching and the value of aloneness "We are unutterably alone, essentially, especially in the things most intimate and most important to us". I would have loved to see the letters Franz Kappus wrote that prompted the responses from Rilke.Particularly in light of his religious reverence in the poems, his response to the questions of God, are important'. As Kappus says in his introduction ""the ten letter - important for the understanding of the world in which Rainer Marie Rilke lived and worked, important also for the many who are growing and evolving now and shall in the future".

From the inside cover
This volume collects the essential work by one of the twentieth century's greatest writers, Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926). Rilke's prose and poetry is nessecary reading for anyone interested in modern literature, but the poet's words will captivate anyone who wishes to take a deep look at life - and at themselves.

Letters to a Young Poet, one of the best-loved books among writers even today, contains Rilke's wise, nurturing missives to another aspiring young writer, Franz Xaver Kappus, who looked to Rilke for spiritual and creative guidance.

Rilke's response turned the questioner's gaze around to point within himself in the quest for answers to life and art's big questions. Rilke rejects any reliance on others to validate one's artistic endeavors. He believed that writing is an inner journey, a slow process of self-discovery. Yet the poet also encourages Kappus to observe his own life and surroundings to find his subject matter and inspiration. The poet must transform the everyday reality that's all around him.

Remarkable for their warmth, kindness and empathy, Rilke's letters provide timeless insights into art, vocation and life. The letters also document Rilke's thoughts and observations as he traveled throughout Europe. Letters to a Young Poet is both a generous dispersal of wisdom and a record of the poet's inner and outer journeys.

The second part of this volume, The Possibility of Being, collects poetry from seven of Rilke's books. The lucidity and purity we encounter in the letters is also readily apparent in the poems presented here, which includes such well-known works as "Autumn," "The Panther," and "Archaic Torso of Apollo."

Rilke consistently attempts to get to the essence of being: life and death, love and loss. His work often describes material things: a flower, a fountain or a statue. But these "things" are just launching points for his deep ruminations. Rilke transforms his observations of the material world into spiritual meditations on universal questions. His rigorous poems give exquisite form to the ineffable.

Indispensable for the aspiring writer, the lover of great literature, or the seeker of wisdom, this book is a small slice of the sublime that belongs on every bookshelf.

Both the Wise Guidance and the Result
Kent Nerburn did a terrific service to the student of both writing and the genius of Rainer Maria Rilke by including his compelling heartfelt letters to the young Franz Xaver Kappus, a student of a former teacher of Rilke.

What makes this volume especially wonderful (there are other editions) of "Letters to a Young Poet" is the inclusion of some of Rilke's beautiful poems from his volume "The Possibility of Being."

This way the reader understands more of Rilke's heart through both his prose and his poetry.

It is as his young correspondant writes, "When a truly great and unique spirit speaks, the lesser ones must be silent."

This book is not only for poets, artists and writers.It is truly for anyone who breathes-- and wants to experience each breath with more richness, more depth, more beauty, more truth. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

Great Book!
I am extremely delighted with my most recent purchase from the Bibliolife Reproduction Series. The book arrived quickly and inexcellent condition, like new!

Ode to Uncle Larry
I am extremely delighted with my most recent purchase from Uncle Larry's Library. The item ordered arrived almost overnight, and in the most excellent condition, like new! All this, at very low cost. Yes, I will be ordering from Uncle Larry again! Highest praise.

"All right, Ben. Attend me."
"Anybody can look at a pretty girl and see a pretty girl. An artist can look at a pretty girl and see the old woman she will become. A better artist can look at an old woman and see the pretty girl that she used to be. But a great artist-a master-and that iswhat Auguste Rodin was-can look at an old woman, protray her exactly as she is...and force the viewer to see the pretty girl she used to be...and more than that, he can make anyone with the sensitivity of an armadillo, or even you, see that this lovely young girl is still alive, not old and ugly at all, but simply prisoned inside her ruined body. He can make you feel the quiet, endless tragedy that there was never a girl born who ever grew older than eighteen in her heart...no matter what the merciless hours have done to her. Look at her, Ben. Growing old doesn't matter to you and me; we were never meant to be admired-but it does to them."

-Robert A. Heinlein "Stranger in a Strange Land" ... Read more

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Gleaned from Rainer Maria Rilke’s voluminous, never-before-translated correspondence, this volume offers the best writings and personal philosophy of one of the twentieth century’s greatest poets. The result is a profound vision of how the human drive to create and understand can guide us in every facet of life. Arranged by theme–from everyday existence with others to the exhilarations of love and the experience of loss, from dealing with adversity to the nature of inspiration–here are Rilke’s thoughts on how to infuse everyday life with beauty, wonder, and meaning.
Intimate, stylistically masterful, brilliantly translated and assembled, and brimming with the passion of Rilke, Letters on Life is a font of wisdom and a perfect book for all occasions.


From the Trade Paperback edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Watered down Rilke
This is a poor example of Rilke period. I found this to be a sad compilation in the spirit of "chicken Rilke for the soul." If you are in the least bit interested in Rilke and his work you would do much better checking out his work published by Vintage.

A tremendous feat of sympathetic translation
I am astonished that this wonderful book has not been widely reviewed by Rilke fans.Ulrich Baer is a superb translator and just as crucially he has a deep understanding of Rilke's intention and meaning - vital for opening a window to appreciating one of the greatest poets of the last century (Rilke died in 1926).It is Rilke's prose that is on show here - Baer has made his selection from many thousands of letters, and gathered countless insights that would otherwise be unavailable to English-language readers. ... Read more

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Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926) is considered one of the German language’s greatest poets. His most famous works are the “Sonnets to Orpheus” and the “Duino Elegies.” Rilke wrote Stories of God in 1899 at the age of 23 in seven nights. He later wrote that the stories were a “youthful” attempt bring God into “direct and daily experiencing.”

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One of the literary masterpieces of the century, this translation is now presented with facing-page German.

We have a marvelous, almost legendary, image of the circumstances in which the composition of this great poem began. Rilke was staying at a castle (Duino) on the sea near Trieste. One morning he walked out on the battlements and climbed down to where the rocks dropped sharply to the sea. From out of the wind, which was blowing with great force, Rilke seemed to hear a voice: Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen? (If I cried out, who would hear me up there, among the angelic orders?). He wrote these words, the opening of the first Duino Elegy, in his notebook, then went inside to continue what was to be his major work and one of the literary masterpieces of the century. ... Read more