Description

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A Journey into the Heart of German Poetry

Experience a deep dive into the mesmerizing world of one of the most significant poets of the 20th century with The Poetry of Rilke. Uncover an unparalleled collection of Rilke's finest works, elegantly translated over the course of two decades by acclaimed scholar Edward Snow. This collection brings to light over two hundred and fifty of Rilke's distinguished gems, including the complete versions of his towering masterpieces, the Sonnets to Orpheus and Duino Elegies.

From his early poetic explorations in The Book of Hours to his visionary verses written in the twilight of his life, this anthology spans the breadth of Rilke's literary evolution. This landmark bilingual edition not only invites you to a breathtaking trip to the heart of lyrical and existential poetry but also serves as a comprehensive platform to appreciate the magical interplay between German and English verses.

Alongside Rilke’s works, Snow's enlightening commentaries yield a richer comprehension of Rilke's illustrious verses. The Poetry of Rilke will stand as the authoritative single-volume translation of Rilke into English for years to come.

About the Author

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Rainer Maria Rilke was born in Prague in 1875 and traveled throughout Europe for much of his adult life, returning frequently to Paris. There he came under the influence of the sculptor Auguste Rodin and produced much of his finest verse, most notably the two volumes of New Poems as well as the great modernist novel The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge. Among his other books of poems are The Book of Images and The Book of Hours. He lived the last years of his life in Switzerland, where he completed his two poetic masterworks, the Duino Elegies and Sonnets to Orpheus. He died of leukemia in December 1926.

Edward Snow is a professor of English at Rice University. He is the recipient of an Academy of Arts and Letters Award for his Rainer Maria Rilke translations and has twice received the Academy of American Poets' Harold Morton Landon Translation Award. He is the author of A Study of Vermeer and Inside Bruegel.

Adam Zagajewski (1945–2021) was born in Lvov, Poland. His books include Tremor; Canvas; Mysticism for Beginners; Without End; Eternal Enemies; Unseen Hand; Asymmetry; Solidarity, Solitude; Two Cities; Another Beauty; A Defense of Ardor; and Slight Exaggeration—all published by FSG. He lived in Chicago and Kraków.

Praise For…

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“Edward Snow is doing important work. Robert Lowell once wrote that it was hard to imagine Rilke first written in English, that the poems were sealed in German. Snow is unsealing them.” —Robert Phillips, Houston Chronicle

“[This] translation of the Elegies is the finest that I have ever read . . . Snow has gradually been building a reputation as Rilke's best contemporary translator in English. His version of the Elegies should cement that reputation, and elevate it: Snow may be the best translator that Rilke has ever had.” —Brian Phillips, The New Republic on the Duino Elegies

“Snow has rendered with great skill and accuracy a work both familiar and unknown, more complicated and more immediate than many have suspected, at once grave, mysterious, and beautiful.” —Edward Hirsch on The Book of Images

“With these sorrowing and luminous poems . . . it is possible to gain, for the first time in English, a consistent perspective of Rilke's difficult canon, here restored and disclosed to stunning effect.” —Richard Howard on The Book of Images

“Something of the non-vatic Rilke, poet of perception and sensation, is best conveyed in English by Snow's mediations.” —Harold Bloom on Uncollected Poems

“The Snow translation of these little-known Rilke poems is brilliant.” —Mark Strand on Uncollected Poems

“Rilke's first great work . . . [Snow's translation] is clear, accurate, and fluent.” —Stephen Mitchell on New Poems