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"This miracle of a book, perhaps the most beautiful group of poetic translations this century has ever produced," (Chicago Tribune) should stand as the definitive English language version.

Rilke is one of the leading poets of European Modernism, and one of the great twentieth-century lyric poets in German. From The Book of Hours in 1905 to the Sonnets of Orpheus written in 1922, he constantly probed the relationship between his art and the world around him, moving... Read Full Overview

"This miracle of a book, perhaps the most beautiful group of poetic translations this century has ever produced," (Chicago Tribune) should stand as the definitive English language version.

First published in 1986. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

"This miracle of a book, perhaps the most beautiful group of poetic translations this century has ever produced," (Chicago Tribune) should stand as the definitive English language version.

Hailed as the greatest modern lyrical poet of Germany, Rainer Maria Rilke's genius lies in his passion for perfection, artistic integrity and 'willingness to remain a perpetual beginner'.

The fifty poems presented here in chronological order were written by Rilke between 1897 (he was twenty-one) and 1926, the year of his death from leukemia at the age of fifty-one. They come from his early poems, his volumes "The book of images", "New poems, I & II", and from... Read Full Overview

Wright's brilliant translations of some of Rilke's neglected poems are now widely admired. They are here enhanced by an additional selection and a new introduction by the translator.