Reading rilke is an ambitious book, but one of the things it does not attempt is to situate rilke historically. Coetzee no literary work corresponds more closely than rilkes to the definition barbara cassin offers of the untranslatable. These fresh translations rendered by joanna macy, a mystic and spiritual teacher, and anita barrows, a skilled poet, capture rilkes spirit as no one has done before. Named one of the best books of the year by publishers weeklya sweeping story told in letters, spanning two continents and two world wars, jessica brockmoles atmospheric debut novel. Rainer maria rilkes the book of hours book, 2008 worldcat. English translations rainer maria rilke 18751926 was a bohemianaustrian poet generally considered to be a major poet of the german language. List of books and articles about rainer maria rilke. See all books authored by rainer maria rilke, including briefe an einen jungen dichter, and the selected poetry of rainer maria rilke, and more on. Translating turns out to be only a more intense and demanding form of what we do whenever we read. The images themselves jangle at times against eachother.
An essential part of their seduction has to do with a form that might be as confusing to the mind as it is exquisite to the ear. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read tao te ching. New english translations from the german of 80 of rainer maria rilkes best poems, together with 120 color prints from the high. Rilke influenced generations of writers with his letters to a young poet, and now rilkes book of hours tells us that our role in the world is to love it and thereby love god into being. Some translators, such as anita barrows and joanna macy, used their translations of rilkes book of hours to aid in their translation of the sonnets to orpheus and duino elegies, and found many underlying similarities.
The selected poetry of rainer maria rilke stephen mitchell. It was at the request of some of my students that i gave some classes on the translation of poetry, using one or two poems by rilke in the original german and comparing these with a number of translations into english. Rilkes voice, with its extraordinary combination of formality, power, speed and lightness, can be. We read the first two duino elegies in translations by stephen mitchell, david young, gary miranda, and edward snow. Available for the first time in a single volume, ranier maria rilkes two most beloved sequences of poems rendered by his most faithful translator. Jun 12, 2007 my favorite translations of rilke are by galway kinnell with hannah liebmann, and edward snow. Several critics have described rilkes work as mystical. Trauma and the experience of modernity in charles baudelaire and paul celan, and the editor of 110 stories. In his introduction edward snows the poetry of rilke 2009, adam zagajewski explains that rilke was on a mission to become real or feel alive, as some might say.
His works include the book of hours, duino elegies, sonnets to orpheus, the notebooks of malte laurids brigge. Leishman translations not because they seem the most faithfulbut simply because they are the ones through whichi first came to the rilke poems. One of the most influential poets of the 20th century, rainer maria rilke has left an indelible mark on world literature. Transforming the world into feeling the new york times. The church, in venice, which rilke visited in 1911. An e book version of this title is available 97815718057, to libraries through a number of trusted suppliers. Translations that aim to reproduce rhyme schemes and meter at any cost generally relinquish semantic precision and introduce additional material. Joanna macy is an activist, author, and a scholar of buddhism, systems thinking, and deep ecology.
Rainer maria rilke poems poems of rainer maria rilke. I want to read the notebooks of malte laurids brigge by rilke but there are so many translations that and no good articles besides one comparing mitchells and pikes translations. In this groundbreaking bilingual edition, awardwinning translator burton pike captures the music, power, and unerring precision of some of rilke s bestknown poems. Rainer maria rilkes most popular book is letters to a young poet. Translations from the poetry of rainer maria rilke norton paperback. New translation of rilkes letters to a young poet the. Drawn by some sympathetic note in his poems, young people often wrote to rilke with their problems and hopes. When john berryman wrote in his third dream song that rilke was a jerk, a lot of readers of rainer maria rilke in.
The new collection the poetry of rilke, translated by edward snow. Translations of these sonnets must also find the means of enticing and provoking readers in the new language, as they do in rilke s german. Rilke is unquestionably the most significant and compelling poet of romantic transformation, of spiritual quest, that the twentieth century has known. Translations rainer maria rilke, duino elegies and the sonnets to orpheus translated by a. Her new translation of rilke s letters to a young poet, together with anita barrows, is upcoming in 2020. This past semester i wrote a term paper about rilkes poem herbsttag and compared some of the many translations that have been done, and those two versions struck me as being very close to both the literal meaning and the feel of the original, as well as very alive in their own right. Top 25 quotes by rainer maria rilke of 487 az quotes. Ben hutchinson is reader in modern german at the university of kent, uk. A selection of the major works of rainer maria rilke in new english translations, also with recordings. Snows translations of the complete texts of rilkes original collectionsincluding both volumes of new poems, the book of images, duino elegies and the. A new english version ebook written by stephen mitchell. His relations with his father were difficult, and he was able to attend the univ. The notebooks of malte laurids brigge best translation. Having been able to read rilke alongside a native german, we both agree that snow captures the essence of.
H erter n orton letters to a young poet sonnets to orpheus wartime letters of rainer maria ril\e translations from the poetry of rainer maria rilfe the lay of love and death of cornet christopher rilfye the notebooks of malte laurids brigge stories of god. New english translations from the german of 80 of rainer maria rilke s best poems, together with 120 color prints from the high wallowas. While rilkes wellknown later collections the new poems, duino elegies, and sonnets to orpheus have been translated into english on numerous. However what rilke allows himself with these passages is an attempt to construct a more lifelike poetry, one not made merely of rhetoric, though rhetoric is inescapable, but one in which thoughts and dreams can actively enter ones mind, as they do during the hours of the day. Widely recognized as one of the most lyrically intense germanlanguage poets, rainer maria rilke was unique in his efforts to expand the realm of poetry through new uses of syntax and imagery and in an aesthetic philosophy that rejected christian precepts and strove to reconcile beauty and suffering, life and death. Rainer maria rilke is arguably the most important modern germanlanguage poet. Apollos archaic torso translated by sarah stutt two versions of rainer maria rilke s legendary sonnet move beyond simple translation into a vibrant encounter with both sculpture. Rilkes buddha poems, like most of his poetry, are written in formal verse a sonnet and rhyming quatrains.
Phenomenal woman, still i rise, the road not taken, if you forget me, dreams. The book of hours, written in three bursts between 1899 and 1903, is rilke s most. Rainer maria rilke has 731 books on goodreads with 250686 ratings. Susan ranson is the cotranslator, with marielle sutherland, of rainer maria rilke, selected poems oxford worlds classics, 2011. On translating rilkes duino elegies martyn crucefix. Letters to a young poet by rainer maria rilke and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. A new translation of the much loved letters to a young poet by rainer maria rilke considered one of the great lyric poets in the german language, rainer maria rilke was also a prolific letter. Something of the nonvatic rilke, poet of perception and sensation, is best conveyed in english by snows mediations. This is the first complete translation of rainer maria rilke s book of hours in more than forty years. Translator joseph cadora has created the definitive englishlanguage version through.
Who is the best translator of ranier maria rilke into english. I think the same might be said about rilke, who surely shares with rimbaud that peculiar power to attract mythologizing admirers. Rimbaud, char points out, was neither a seer nor a prophet nor a god. In these poems considered as private prayers by the author as well as in other translations of different work by rilke the language just flows and is beautiful. Poem hunter all poems of by rainer maria rilke poems. Gass book is a worthwhile, even significant, study of rilke. The rilke one encounters in recent translations sounds like a guy who can probably relate. While rilke s wellknown later collections the new poems, duino elegies, and sonnets to orpheus have been translated into english on numerous occasions, his early book of hours remained, until recently, comparatively inaccessible to an englishspeaking readership.
The influence and popularity of rilkes poetry in america have never been greater than they are today, more than fifty years after his death. Rainer maria rilkes the book of hours boydell and brewer. Her books include translations of rilkes book of hours. Daily readings from the best of rainer maria rilke 29oct2009. Love poems to god, a year with rilke, and in praise of mortality. The reference is to one of the commemorative tablets, inscribed with latin texts, on the church walls. She is the root teacher of the work that reconnects, a framework and workshop for personal and social change.
She wrote some two hundred sonnets telling the story of her love for him, dying at the age of thirtyone. Translation and literature list of issues volume 18, issue 2 rainer maria rilke. The poet always spoke of the sonnets as subsidiary to the elegies, but parry argues that while the elegies talk about the poets task, the sonnets perform it. Ben hutchinson the book of hours, written in three bursts between 18991903, is rilke s most formative work, covering a crucial period in his rapid ascent from findesiecle epigone to distinctive modern voice. A new translation with commentary studies in german literature linguistics and culture german. Translations from the poetry of rainer maria rilke norton. Houghton mifflin company, boston, 1975 isbn 0395250587 the selected poetry of rainer maria rilke, ed. At the time i knew nothing about rilke or the german language. It provides a great deal of information on the poet but its aim is scattershot. The later books are not as strong, however, and seem to have a stream of bitterness or loss of hope running through them. The book of hours, written in three bursts between 1899 and 1903, is rilke s most formative work, covering a crucial period in his rapid ascent from findesiecle epigone to distinctive modern voice.
Joanna macy a wild love for the world the on being project. A superb new and complete translation of rilkes luminously lyrical early book of poems, with scholarly introduction and commentary. Not the least interesting phenomenon of the last four years has been the growing influence of rilke upon english poetry. David young oberlin college press, 1994 ps primary source a primary source is a work that is being studied, or that provides firsthand or direct evidence on a topic. I have found edward snows translations to be by far the best with respect to poetic translations, certainly a much more difficult endeavor than merely producing a linguistic translation. Rilke is, of course, incomparably better in german. Rilke was certainly one for broad strokes in the duino elegies. Snow may be the best translator that rilke has ever had. Translations from the poetry of rainer maria rilke norton paperback rainer maria rilke, m. Version 10 has used long, which has forced throng in line 3, which seems contrived. We could say vast though it misses of the overtone of great but will then be stuck with something like unloose the winds in fields while these days last for line 3, which is not what rilke wrote. As a study of rilke and his work and specifically the duino elegies, reading rilke is very good.
Life rilkes youth at military and business school was not happy. Dec 18, 2007 rainer maria rilke 18751926 ranks among the great poets of world literature, and was the author of duino elegies and sonnets to orpheus. Which translator of ranier maria rilke into english best balances literal translation with the feel of the poems in the original language. Rainer maria rilke books list of books by author rainer. This new collection of rilkes work begins with a suite of new translations from rilkes book of hours, a group of poems that snow felt uneasy. Gass writes engagingly and well, and he handles a great deal of material here without overtaxing the reader.
It provides englishspeaking readers with access to a critical work in the development of the most significant figure in twentiethcentury german poetry. It is a matter of extreme interest when poetry as difficult as rilkes is also popular. His haunting images tend to focus on the difficulty of communion with the ineffable in an age of disbelief, solitude, and profound anxiety themes that tend to position him as a transitional figure between the traditional and the modernist poets. For a period during the 1990s i taught translation at the university of heidelberg. His own version of eatpraylove was rather idiosyncratic. Born in 1875, the great german lyric poet rainer maria rilke published his first collection of poems in 1898 and went on to become renowned for his delicate depiction of the workings of the human heart. Apr 01, 2008 his new poems, duino elegies, and sonnets to orpheus are pillars of 20thcentury poetry. A revised bilingual edition and millions of other books are available for amazon. The book of hours, written in three bursts between 1899 and 1903, is rilkes most. Stories of god by rilke, rainer maria and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Since the mid1990s, however, the older translations by babette deutsch.
Mark strand on uncollected poems rilkes first great work. Rainer maria rilke is considered one of the german languages greatest 20th century poets. Books by rainer maria rilke author of letters to a young. Gleaned from rainer maria rilke s voluminous, neverbeforetranslated correspondence, this volume offers the best writings and personal philosophy of one of the twentieth centurys greatest poets.
Rather than offer an account of rilkes life from conception to death we are often left to focus on moments. With more than two hundred and fifty selected poems by rilke, including complete translations of the sonnets to orpheus and the duino elegies, the poetry of rilke spans the arc of rilkes work, from the breakthrough poems of the book of hours to the visionary masterpieces written only weeks before his death. He wrote mainly in german, but also wrote some four hundred poems in french. The book of hours, written in three bursts between 1899 and 1903, is rilkes most formative wor. Rainer maria rilke rainer maria rilke biography poem. His new poems, duino elegies, and sonnets to orpheus are pillars of 20thcentury poetry.
His writings include one novel, several collections of poetry and several volumes of correspondence in which he invokes images that focus on the difficulty of communion with the. A new translation with commentary studies in german literature, linguistics, and culture by rainer maria rilke, ben hutchinson, susan ranson isbn. Letters to a young poet, first edition abebooks passion for books. Rainer maria rilkes the book of hours by rainer maria rilke. Rainer maria rilkes the book of hours cambridge core. God in his poetry, rilke attempted to transform life into art in his new poems. But i recommend the facingpage edition by edward snow idiomatic, sensitive to implications and subtleties. The poetry of rainer maria rilke picturepoems by cliff crego. Reading rilke is a strange mix of biography, analysis, and translation. The book of hours, written in three bursts between 1899 and 1903, is. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. New prose translations by rainer rilke online at alibris.
These fresh translations rendered by joanna macy, a mystic and spiritual teacher, and anita barrows, a skilled poet, capture rilkes spirit as no one has done. The result is a profound vision of how the human drive to create and understand can guide us in every facet of life. These fresh translations rendered by joanna macy, a mystic and spiritual teacher, and anita barrows, a skilled poet, capture rilke s spirit as no one has. Translated by christine mcneill and patricia mccarthy. Although the book of hours is the work of rilkes youth, it contains the germ of his mature convictions. Stephen mitchells translations bring the qualities that i most cherish in the originals into english with new intimacy and authority. Of the monastic life, of pilgrimage, of poverty and death, hogarth, 1961, published as rilkes book of hours. I am wondering if anyone has read the new translations michael hulse penguin classics and robert vilain. Rainer maria rilke poems poems of rainer maria rilke poem. Rainer maria rilke 18751926 is one of the twentieth centurys foremost poets. Her books include translations of rilke s book of hours. His poems of ecstatic identification with the world exert a seemingly endless fascination for.
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