"This miracle of a book, perhaps the most beautiful group of poetic translations this century has ever produced," (Chicago Tribune) shoul...
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Sep 24, 2010
David
rated it: 
There are times in life when I feel as if I live in a parallel universe. You know the way it goes. The usual precipitating event - everyone else on the planet holds an opinion or belief that seems so outrageous and outlandish to me, we cannot be having the same experience. I've had this feeling all day today.
My current sense of profound alienation was triggered by looking down the list of other people's ratings for this book, the Robert Bly "translation" of selected poems b More...
My current sense of profound alienation was triggered by looking down the list of other people's ratings for this book, the Robert Bly "translation" of selected poems b More...
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Nov 10, 2007
Jessica
rated it: 
Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the angels'
hierarchies? and even if one of them pressed me
suddenly against his heart: I would be consumed
in that overwhelming existence. For beauty is nothing
but the beginning of terror, which we still are just able to endure,
and we are so awed because it serenely distains
to annihilate us. Every angel is terrifying.
And so I hold myself back and swallow the call-note
of my dark sobbing. Ah, whom can we eve More...
hierarchies? and even if one of them pressed me
suddenly against his heart: I would be consumed
in that overwhelming existence. For beauty is nothing
but the beginning of terror, which we still are just able to endure,
and we are so awed because it serenely distains
to annihilate us. Every angel is terrifying.
And so I hold myself back and swallow the call-note
of my dark sobbing. Ah, whom can we eve More...
6 comments
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(5 people liked it)
Jun 30, 2008
Tortla
rated it: 
Honorary "dragons" shelving for being just that awesome.
EDIT:
Also, I think I've read all the poems and most of the extra stuff, but I'm not sure if I consider this as "read," yet. I think it's going to stay on the currently-reading shelf until I learn German and French so as to be able to read the pre-translated half (so it's quite possible that this book shall never be "read"). Seriously, Rilke has made me want to learn German and French so I can More...
EDIT:
Also, I think I've read all the poems and most of the extra stuff, but I'm not sure if I consider this as "read," yet. I think it's going to stay on the currently-reading shelf until I learn German and French so as to be able to read the pre-translated half (so it's quite possible that this book shall never be "read"). Seriously, Rilke has made me want to learn German and French so I can More...
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Jun 23, 2008
I'm racing my way up to page 43 so far (it's been about 5 months). It's funny, his poems are so image intensive, I never really know how to read, say, 20 at one sitting. That said, here's one of the three I read this morning--its images have some real gems:
Spanish Dancer
As on all its sides a kitchen-match darts white
flickering tongues before it bursts into flame:
with the audience around her, quickened, hot,
her dance begins to flicker in the dark room. More...
Spanish Dancer
As on all its sides a kitchen-match darts white
flickering tongues before it bursts into flame:
with the audience around her, quickened, hot,
her dance begins to flicker in the dark room. More...
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Mar 27, 2008
Katherine
rated it:
Hi, new favorite poet, where have you been all my life?
I'm cheating with this review, because I'm currently only halfway through this volume, yet I know it's a five-star review. (EDIT: Finished it - everything rocked!) I can blow through a novel in a day, but I can only read a few pages of Rilke at a time, or else the profundity and sheer awesomeness of it all overwhelms me.
I don't know if I've ever encountered a poet like this before. To paraphrase from the back cover, h More...
I'm cheating with this review, because I'm currently only halfway through this volume, yet I know it's a five-star review. (EDIT: Finished it - everything rocked!) I can blow through a novel in a day, but I can only read a few pages of Rilke at a time, or else the profundity and sheer awesomeness of it all overwhelms me.
I don't know if I've ever encountered a poet like this before. To paraphrase from the back cover, h More...
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Aug 26, 2008
Yuval
rated it:
I'm not the world's biggest poetry buff, but Rilke's work is more like lyric philosophy, and the depth of ideas and richness of imagery is overwhelming. It's been way too long since reading these, and I've thoroughly loved the re-read over the last few weeks.
Last time I read this, I did not speak German, so this is the first time I was able to assess Stephen Mitchell's translations of the poems from German. They are truly amazing; accurate, graceful, and lovely. I can't imagine any More...
Last time I read this, I did not speak German, so this is the first time I was able to assess Stephen Mitchell's translations of the poems from German. They are truly amazing; accurate, graceful, and lovely. I can't imagine any More...
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Nov 06, 2011
Everett
rated it:
Rating a book of translations which include the originals is annoying. So 6 stars for Rilke, 2 stars for Bly´s translation, I´ve called it a 4 star read. I just take a lot of issue with Bly´s liberal translations, "Herbsttag" to October Day, "Jubel-Baum" to oak tree of joy, which call for far simpler translations- Fall Day, Tree of Joy. I lose a lot of respect for purposefully erudite or indulgent translators. Clearly a translation is going to catch some of the translator´s c
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Dec 30, 2010
Justin
rated it:
The side by side German/ English text is most welcome and encouragement enough to learn Deutsche. I have read only a few other translations of Rilke and Stephen Mitchell's flows very well, although I cannot speak to how many liberties he takes with the original German. This book contains arguably Rilke's best works: the Duino Elegies, Sonnets to Orpheus, and others that he wrote during different stages of his life. The poems are arranged chronologically, and its fascinating to see his develop
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Jun 28, 2010
Alan
rated it:
The Introduction, by one Robert Hass, seemed interminable, and I'm not sure that his idiosyncratic interpretations and biographical snippets would add much for someone who is already familiar with Rilke's life and work. But I felt obliged to struggle through its forty-some pages, and did glean some tidbits of understanding about this remarkable poet, even if I felt a little afraid to embark on actually reading Rilke's poems afterwards.
The main thing I learned is that I don't know all More...
The main thing I learned is that I don't know all More...
Aug 18, 2009
Patrick
rated it:
Rilke occupies a spot on my shelf of late-nineteenth century sturm und drang artists melding beautifully with Mahler, Bruckner, Hesse and Delequoix. Considered one of the German language's greatest 20th-century poets his haunting images 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. (I lifted that sentence from Wikipedia, but
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Jul 31, 2011
Hansen
rated it: 
There was a time when Rilke served as a Holden Caulfield for the 20-something set, an archetype of melancholy for the late rebel. He seems more known than read now, but modern young adults should be able to connect well to his isolationist despair, especially considering how technology and social media has challenged classic concepts of self-identity, chiseling us down to solipsistic souls covered by layers of tee shirt mottos and favorite bands. Whether they could follow his courage (or is it m
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Nov 28, 2009
Jenna
rated it:
Very pretty; lyrical; what we mean when we say "poetic," I suppose.
His early poems show he has a great eye, a real knack for observation. He effaces his ego, transforming himself into an empty receptacle for perceptions (a Transparent Eyeball, maybe?). It's a spiritual feat, of the Buddhist ilk. If he doesn't quite succeed in becoming one with the Void, he at least sings the Void's praises.
His later poems showcase his talent for crafting highly complex metaph More...
His early poems show he has a great eye, a real knack for observation. He effaces his ego, transforming himself into an empty receptacle for perceptions (a Transparent Eyeball, maybe?). It's a spiritual feat, of the Buddhist ilk. If he doesn't quite succeed in becoming one with the Void, he at least sings the Void's praises.
His later poems showcase his talent for crafting highly complex metaph More...
Aug 21, 2011
Kris
rated it:
Rilke is a strange companion to take on a trip, always trying to draw your attention inwards into yourself, or else towards death, rather that out onto the sights around you. The writing is beautiful, sometimes a little too German-philosophical (filled with words like "Thing" with a capital T, "heart space" and other vague metaphysical pointers), but usually just beautiful. And big credit to whoever compiled the notes section, which felt essential to pulling out the meaning o
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Aug 03, 2011
I chose to do Rilke for a project for Poetry class because I've read clips of his poems in one of my favorite series, The Wolves of Mercy Falls. I chose him not only because I thought it would be fun to learn about Sam's (one of the main characters from that series) favorite poet, but because the excerpts from his poetry that are spread out through the books always were good and I wanted to read more.
I'm really glad I chose Rilke. I love his poetry a lot. He is a really good poet; his More...
I'm really glad I chose Rilke. I love his poetry a lot. He is a really good poet; his More...
Aug 31, 2010
Keith
rated it:
Rilke is truly incredible. his style is so vaporous- the images linger and cloud together, broken up by indefinite semicolons and dashes, and the final lines are like cold glass against the cheek. he's overwhelmingly receptive to beauty and intensity in the world; in letters, he wrote to a friend about the hours he spent watching deer at the zoo. i recognized a lot of romantic sublimity in his earlier poems, in the descriptions of potential in the animals' limbs and gazes, the latent power su
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Jun 11, 2008
Andy
rated it:
Anybody who tells you that Germans are a gruff, unromantic bunch never read Rilke. This is the most delicate, romantic poetry I've ever read.
"If you are the dreamer, then I am the dream.
But when you want to wake, I am your wish."
"If you are the dreamer, then I am the dream.
But when you want to wake, I am your wish."
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Sep 24, 2010
julia
rated it:
I love this because the translation really nails the purity and depth of the poems. I also enjoyed the history of the poems and where Rilke was in his life during the periods. I'm sure I'll buy this one to read over and over.
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Jul 02, 2010
J S
rated it:
DEATH
There stands death, a bluish distillate
in a cup without a saucer. Such a strange
place to find a cup: standing on
the back of a hand. One recognizes clearly
the line along the glazed curve, where the handle
snapped. Covered with dust. And HOPE is written
across the side, in faded Gothic letters.
The man who was to drink out of that cup
read it aloud at breakfast, long ago.
What kind of beings are they then,
who final More...
There stands death, a bluish distillate
in a cup without a saucer. Such a strange
place to find a cup: standing on
the back of a hand. One recognizes clearly
the line along the glazed curve, where the handle
snapped. Covered with dust. And HOPE is written
across the side, in faded Gothic letters.
The man who was to drink out of that cup
read it aloud at breakfast, long ago.
What kind of beings are they then,
who final More...
Aug 08, 2009
Geoff
rated it:
I have read many of the poems in this collection dozens of times, by a handful of different translators, and I never, ever tire of Rilke. No modern poet goes as far into himself, into "the invisible, unheard center", and returns with such gems, really revelations. Revelatory image succeeds revelatory image. Am I being a bit too grandiose? That's fine, I think Rilke is the greatest poet of the 20th century, and high praise is not praise enough. A pure writer. Mitchell's translatio
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Oct 26, 2009
Amy
rated it:
This is one of my favorite poets...on ongoing read...
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Jan 24, 2011
Joseph
rated it:
I've worn this book out. Stephen Mitchell's translations of Rilke are still the ones I prefer. They eschew Rilke's original meters and rhyme structures in favor of capturing his precise images and moods. Other translations attempt the rhymes but seem awkward, and still others seem little more than pale, New Agey impressions of the orignals. I wish there was a complete Mitchell translation of the Book of Hours, but if you love poetry and have not read Rilke, this will be a wonderful introduct
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Feb 20, 2011
Kim
rated it:
Many poets can distill their thoughts, observations, and feelings into poetry in a way that I could never accomplish, but I don't necessarily view them as wise human beings. They might have all sorts of other strengths, but deep interior wisdom is not what they give me. There are some poets, however, who take me to places that resonate so deeply and do it in language that I would never discover in myself. What they say is suffused with wisdom. Rilke is such a poet for me. Wisława Szymborska is a
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Sep 24, 2010
evan
rated it:
MacIntyre's a fun translator. By contorting phrases to impose meter and rhyme he's creating some jaggedness, but something about this tight-collared strategy mirrors the harsher textures and formality of German. Here it's a matter of coarseness toward the end rhymes, especially clever slant ones that are a touch forced, the interior rhymes, and all those instants of gentler order. The resulting poems sound austere and archaic but nicely so--by feeling old they feel, rather they sound, more accur
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Oct 29, 2011
Sonic
rated it:
by Rainer Maria Rilke
(1875 - 1926)
English version by
Stephen Mitchell
Original Language
German
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buddha in Glory
Center of all centers, core of cores,
almond self-enclosed, and growing sweet--
all this universe, to the furthest stars
all beyond them, is your flesh, your fruit.
Now you feel how nothing clings to you;
your vast shell reaches into endless space,
and More...
(1875 - 1926)
English version by
Stephen Mitchell
Original Language
German
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buddha in Glory
Center of all centers, core of cores,
almond self-enclosed, and growing sweet--
all this universe, to the furthest stars
all beyond them, is your flesh, your fruit.
Now you feel how nothing clings to you;
your vast shell reaches into endless space,
and More...
Sep 03, 2010
Chris
rated it:
Achingly beautiful German poetry from the arboreal mists of Central Europe. My German is pitiful and leaves me with no way of knowing how faithful Stephen Mitchell remained to his brilliant source, but I do know that his English renderings are lovely and sublime in and of themselves. Although the famous Duino Elegies, Requiem and Sonnets to Orpheus are ripe with concentrated genius, the entire compendium is a breathtaking achievement, my favorite poetry collection of recent years and, along with
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Apr 13, 2009
Jimmy
rated it:
There are not enough stars on Goodreads for Rilke. I loved this book, which included a little sampler from each of his books, chronologically, except the Duino Elegies, which was here in its entirety. I read the Duino Elegies first and was hooked, but the others are almost as good. The Sonnets to Orpheus especially are great, and some of his stand alone poems. Also because this was roughly chronological, you can see his progression as a poet, and how he developed his ideas, themes, and writi
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Oct 07, 2008
Mr.
rated it:
Du im Voraus
Verlone Geliebte, Nimmergekimmene,
Nicht weiss ich, welche Tone dir lieb sind.
Nicht mehr versuch ich, dich, wenn das Kommenende wogt,
Zu erkennen. Alle die grossen
Bilder in mir, im Fernen erfahrene Landschaft,
Stadte und Turme und Brucken und un-
Vermutete Wedung der Wege
Und das Gewaltige jener von Gottern
Einst durchwachsenen Lander:
Steigt zur Bedeutung in mir
Deiner, Entgehende, an.
You who never arr More...
Verlone Geliebte, Nimmergekimmene,
Nicht weiss ich, welche Tone dir lieb sind.
Nicht mehr versuch ich, dich, wenn das Kommenende wogt,
Zu erkennen. Alle die grossen
Bilder in mir, im Fernen erfahrene Landschaft,
Stadte und Turme und Brucken und un-
Vermutete Wedung der Wege
Und das Gewaltige jener von Gottern
Einst durchwachsenen Lander:
Steigt zur Bedeutung in mir
Deiner, Entgehende, an.
You who never arr More...
Dec 07, 2007
Taka
rated it:
For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror...
When I read that and the second elegy, I seriously got goosebumps all over my body. And some of the poems really blew me away. To be honest, however, so much of it just flew over my head that I need to read it again to even fathom Rilke's depth expressed in these beautiful poems. For me, the most interesting ones were The Book of Hours, The Duino Elegies, and The Sonnets to Orpheus, and it is too bad that Stephen Mitchell didn't tr More...
When I read that and the second elegy, I seriously got goosebumps all over my body. And some of the poems really blew me away. To be honest, however, so much of it just flew over my head that I need to read it again to even fathom Rilke's depth expressed in these beautiful poems. For me, the most interesting ones were The Book of Hours, The Duino Elegies, and The Sonnets to Orpheus, and it is too bad that Stephen Mitchell didn't tr More...
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Nov 13, 2007
Cecilia
rated it:
Stephen Mitchell provides by far the most musical and natural sounding translations of Rilke. I don't speak or read German, but the quality of the finished translation is far higher than any other translators of Rilke. I also believe he's pretty well-regarded in the field. Rilke's poetry spoke to my romantic (college) soul and still strikes me as some of the most beautiful language ever produced. The introduction to this edition speaks of Rilke's poetic voice sounding like someone whispering in
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Oct 29, 2011
Tracy O
rated it:
I don't read/speak German so I cannot verify if this translation is somehow truer to the language or spirit of the original than another, but it is really beautiful. What I CAN say is that this is luminous and it grabbed me (with some other translations I haven't felt like Rilke was a writer whose poems I needed to read).
I love the First Elegy, Sonnets to Orpheus II, I3 and II, and II, 23 (here is the last)
Call me to the one among your moments
that stands before y More...
I love the First Elegy, Sonnets to Orpheus II, I3 and II, and II, 23 (here is the last)
Call me to the one among your moments
that stands before y More...
