The greatly admired essayist, novelist, philosopher, and author of "Finding aForm" and "The Tunnel" reflects on the art of translation and on Raine...
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reviews
Jan 25, 2010
Jessie
rated it: 
Gives a crack of light into Rilke’s DUINO ELEGIES (Gass includes his translation of the ELEGIES in this book of biography and sharp literary criticism, with a dose of philosophy); very dense but clear prose, slow going; triggers that too-familiar sense of disappointment in the Great Artist who’s (no surprise) a lousy husband who abandons his child and who prefers the rich for company and the poor for writing material, but the book triggers more than that too—this bit helps to dethrone my inner j
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Jun 08, 2010
Katherine
rated it: 
I've never had a whole lot of patience for people who complain about the things that are inevitably lost in translation, ignoring the wealth of things that are GAINED - the enrichment of the target language, the introduction of brilliant poets and writers to people who otherwise would never have heard of them, the unusual images and metaphors that can arise from unfamiliar rhymes and patterns.
Luckily, this book's nothing like that.
While undertaking his own translation of More...
Luckily, this book's nothing like that.
While undertaking his own translation of More...
Feb 28, 2009
Rachel
rated it: 
This is great for anyone who's interested in translation or Rilke, and good for people who like poetry. Gass gets a little carried away sometimes with very beautiful but unnecessary language, and parts of this were frustrating because they were so abstract and poet-y, but overall I'm glad I read it, and I learned a lot.
Dec 06, 2008
christopher
rated it:
Wonderful book on Rilke's life and the challenges of translating him. Gass is an excellent and at time playful writer. For all his reasoning for a closer translation, Gass' new translation in the final pages of the book just doesn't have the emotive impact that, "less faithful" translations do.
Dec 13, 2011
Denise
rated it:
For those who want to look deeper into Rilke, and the translation of his work. (Not for everybody.)
Oct 19, 2008
Daniel Abdal-Hayy
rated it:
A very creative look at Rilke's life and poetry, especially the magnificent if sometimes turgid ocean of The Duino Elegies, which William Gass has also retranslated... He has a novelist's way of approaching Rilke, imperfect man, inspired poet, whether in sponsored hotel rooms or on the windy parapets of howling windy voices at the Duino castle... I seem to be reading it all the way through... sometimes a feat for me I must admit.
Apr 16, 2008
Amy
rated it:
I have such fond memories of reading this book in grad school: there are notes all over the margins of my copy. As silly as this sounds, reading it made me feel like such a scholar--I felt as though I were taking part in a secret society of knowledge. Plus, I've never read another book like it; you're studying Rilke, but his work is really a vehicle for the study and "problem" of translation.
Jun 23, 2007
Beverly
rated it:
For extensive info on this book:
[http://www.beverlyajackson.com/2007/06/reading-rilke-by-william-h-gass.html]
Anybody interested in Rilke's methods, work and life should not miss this book. Written by a brilliant academic, it is accessible, hilarious (at times) and full of information and enlightening tips for poets. I would want to enter the world of Rilke no other way.
[http://www.beverlyajackson.com/2007/06/reading-rilke-by-william-h-gass.html]
Anybody interested in Rilke's methods, work and life should not miss this book. Written by a brilliant academic, it is accessible, hilarious (at times) and full of information and enlightening tips for poets. I would want to enter the world of Rilke no other way.
Jul 13, 2007
Jim
rated it:
I admit I find Gass' fiction constipated (my loss, no doubt) but I've been a faithful admirer of his criticism since the 1980s. This handsome volume — an extended paean to Rilke, a meditation on the art of translation, a confession of love — is one of my favorites.
Jul 26, 2008
Phillip
rated it:
An outstanding treatise on translation AND, in the process, the writer/philosopher justifies his own excellent translation of Rilke's masterpiece. This seems a must read for anyone who loves Rilke and is interested in the problems of translation.
Apr 22, 2008
Terry
rated it:
Gaas is a mountain! Part biography, part literary criticism, all things poetic. This is prose that sings!
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