New Releases by Rainer Maria Rilke

Rilkes Creative Writing Masterclass »Denn der Schaffende muss eine Welt für sich sein und alles in sich finden und in der Natur« Für Rainer Maria Rilke waren Briefe ebenso Orte der Selbstergründung wie der Begegnung. Seine zehn »Briefe an einen jungen Dichter«, die er 1903/04 und 1908 an den jungen Offizier Franz Xaver Kappus schrieb, verbinden persönliche Erfahrungen mit universellen Gedanken über Kunst, Leben und inneres Wachstum. Mit ihrer besonderen Mischung aus Sensibilität und Klarheit gehören sie zu den bedeutendsten und inspirierendsten Briefen der deutschen Literatur. Eines der meistzitierten Werke Rilkes, das Generationen von Schriftstellern inspiriert hat Zahllose Ratschläge zu Kreativität, Lebenskunst und der Bedeutung des eigenen Werks Jetzt in der berühmtesten Klassiker-Reihe der Welt

Cartas a un joven poeta es un testimonio íntimo del proceso creativo y espiritual. A través de diez cartas dirigidas a un aspirante a escritor, Rainer Maria Rilke no ofrece consejos técnicos, sino una guía profunda hacia la autenticidad interior. Habla del silencio necesario para la creación, de la soledad como patria del artista, del amor, el miedo, la vocación y el coraje de mirar hacia dentro. Más que un epistolario, es una meditación sobre el sentido de la existencia y el llamado a construir una vida desde el arte y la introspección. Rilke invita al lector a no buscar respuestas en el exterior, sino a "vivir las preguntas", dejando que el tiempo revele aquello que aún no comprendemos. Este libro se ha convertido en un acompañante universal para quienes inician un camino creativo, no como manual, sino como faro silencioso. Cada carta es un espejo: no exige, sugiere; no dicta, pregunta. En sus palabras hay consuelo, disciplina y una delicada fe en el crecimiento interior. Una lectura breve, pero infinita: un diálogo con el alma.

Fresh, beautiful new translations of one of the most important poets of all time, publishing in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Rainer Maria Rilke''s birth. Rilke is one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century, revered throughout the world. Geoffrey Lehmann has selected fifty of Rilke’s finest poems from the two volumes of New Poems, considered the center of gravity of Rilke’s achievement. Lehmann’s refined ear and perfect mastery of English verse form give his renderings of Rilke a precision and poise equal to that of the German originals. In celebration of the 150th anniversary of Rilke’s birth, a master poet lives anew.

Letters to a Young Poet , by Rainer Maria Rilke, is a profound and introspective collection of ten letters written between 1903 and 1908 to Franz Xaver Kappus, a young aspiring poet. In these letters, Rilke offers deeply personal reflections on the creative process, solitude, love, and the challenges of artistic life. Rather than providing conventional advice, he encourages Kappus to look inward, to trust in his own experiences, and to embrace uncertainty as a vital part of artistic and personal growth. Since its publication, Letters to a Young Poet has resonated with generations of readers, artists, and thinkers. Its meditative tone and timeless insights extend beyond poetry, offering guidance to anyone navigating the complexities of life and self-expression. Rilke''s emphasis on patience, authenticity, and inner development has made the book a cherished companion for those seeking meaning in their creative or emotional journeys. The enduring appeal of Letters to a Young Poet lies in its quiet wisdom and its invitation to embrace solitude as a space for transformation. Rilke''s words continue to inspire by affirming the power of introspection and the necessity of living one''s questions fully, with openness and courage.

Traduit de l’allemand par Josette Calas et Fanette Lepetit. Postface de Jérôme Vérain. « Personne ne peut vous apporter aide et conseil, personne. Il n’est qu’une seule voie. Entrez en vous-même. Recherchez au plus profond de vous-même la raison qui vous impose d’écrire. » De février 1903 à Noël 1908, Rainer Maria Rilke correspond avec le jeune Franz Xaver Kappus et l’encourage dans sa vocation de poète en devenir. Dans ces lettres, la sensibilité lyrique épouse étroitement la lucidité philosophique du grand poète autrichien.

Was tun wohl gerade die Hände vom lieben Gott? Und könnte Gott sich vielleicht sogar in einem kleinen Fingerhut verstecken? In diesen heiter-ironischen und zugleich nachdenklich stimmenden Geschichten spürt Rainer Maria Rilke diesen und anderen Fragen nach. Inspiration für den großen Dichter lieferten ebenso die Geschichten der Bibel wie auch seine Reisen an die unterschiedlichsten Orte der Welt. Die hier ausgewählten, farbig illustrierten Episoden sind ein wahres Lesevergnügen.

A collection of haunting, mystical poems of the night by the great Rainer Maria Rilke - most of which have never before been translated into English One night I held between my hands your face. The moon fell upon it. In 1916, Rainer Maria Rilke presented the writer Rudolf Kassner with a notebook, containing twenty-two poems, meticulously copied out in his own hand, which bore the title "Poems to Night." This cycle of poems which came about in an almost clandestine manner, are now thought to represent one of the key stages of this master poet''s development. Never before translated into English, this collection brings together all Rilke''s significant night poems in one volume.

Die Neuen Gedichte sind eine aus zwei Teilen bestehende Sammlung von Gedichten Rainer Maria Rilkes. Die Sammlung gilt neben den ›Aufzeichnungen des Malte Laurids Brigge‹ als Hauptwerk seiner mittleren Schaffensphase. Sie markiert eine Wende von der gefühlsbetonten Dichtung ekstatischer Subjektivität und Innerlichkeit, wie im ›Stunden-Buch‹, zur objektiveren Sprache der Dinggedichte. Mit dieser neuen poetischen Orientierung, die von der bildenden Kunst vor allem Rodins beeinflusst war, gilt Rilke als einer der bedeutendsten Dichter der literarischen Moderne.

Intimately connected in themes and regarded as the poet''s masterpieces, these verses offer meditations on love, death, God, and the meaning of life. This edition features acclaimed translations by Jessie Lemont.

The fifty-five Sonnets to Orpheus were written by Rilke in February 1922 in the solitude of the medieval tower of Muzot, in the Swill Valais.

Rainer Maria Rilke offers a compelling portrait of Parisian life, art, and culture at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1902, the young German writer Rainer Maria Rilke traveled to Paris to write a monograph on the sculptor Auguste Rodin. He returned many times over the course of his life, by turns inspired and appalled by the city''s high culture and low society, and his writings give a fascinating insight into Parisian art and culture in the last century. Paris was a lifelong source of inspiration for Rilke. Perhaps most significantly, the letters he wrote about it formed the basis of his prose masterpiece, The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge. Much of this work, despite its perennial popularity in French, German, and Italian, has never before been translated into English. This volume brings together a translation of Rilke''s essay on poetry, ''Notes on the Melody of Things'' and the first English translation of Rilke''s experiences in Paris as observed by his French translator.

From the writer of the classic Letters to a Young Poet, reflections on grief and loss, collected and published here in one volume for the first time. “A great poet’s reflections on our greatest mystery.”—Billy Collins “A treasure . . . The solace Rilke offers is uncommon, uplifting and necessary.”—The Guardian Gleaned from Rainer Maria Rilke’s voluminous, never-before-translated letters to bereaved friends and acquaintances, The Dark Interval is a profound vision of the mourning process and a meditation on death’s place in our lives. Following the format of Letters to a Young Poet, this book arranges Rilke’s letters into an uninterrupted sequence, showcasing the full range of the great author’s thoughts on death and dying, as well as his sensitive and moving expressions of consolation and condolence. Presented with care and authority by master translator Ulrich Baer, The Dark Interval is a literary treasure, an indispensable resource for anyone searching for solace, comfort, and meaning in a time of grief. Praise for The Dark Interval “Even though each of these letters of condolence is personalized with intimate detail, together they hammer home Rilke’s remarkable truth about the death of another: that the pain of it can force us into a ‘deeper . . . level of life’ and render us more ‘vibrant.’ Here we have a great poet’s reflections on our greatest mystery.”—Billy Collins “As we live our lives, it is possible to feel not sadness or melancholy but a rush of power as the life of others passes into us. This rhapsodic volume teaches us that death is not a negation but a deepening experience in the onslaught of existence. What a wise and victorious book!”—Henri Cole

Rilke’s French poetry appears here for the first time in readable, musical versions. Largely unknown and rarely collected, these poems were written during the euphoria Rilke felt after having completed his greatest German works, the Duino Elegies and the Sonnets to Orpheus. At the same time, Rilke was growing increasingly ill with a rare, undiagnosed form of leukemia. He died just four short years into the production of these poems, and death appears in them as “a kindly, unfamiliar figure” to be faced with courage and surrender. Five series of poems are featured: Roses, Windows, Affectionate Tribute to France, Valaisian Quatrains, and Orchards.

The definitive bilingual version of Rilke''s New Poems--faithful to the original German, with insightful commentary on every poem. Essential.

"In the diaries [Rilke] kept from 1898 to 1900, now translated for the first time . . . the overall impression is that of a genius just coming into his own powers."—Boston Phoenix In April 1898 Rainer Maria Rilke, not yet twenty-three, began a diary of his Florence visit. It was to record, in the form of an imaginary dialogue with his mentor and then-lover, Lou Andreas-Salome, his firsthand experiences of early Renaissance art. The project quickly expanded to include not only thoughts on life, history, and artistic genius, but also unguarded moments of revulsion, self-doubt, and manic expectation. The result is an intimate glimpse into the young Rilke, already experimenting brilliantly with language and metaphor. "For the lover of Rilke, this superb translation of the poet''s early diaries will be a watershed. Through Edward Snow''s and Michael Winkler''s brilliantly supple and faithful translation . . . a new and more balanced picture of Rilke will emerge."—Ralph Freedman

COMPOSED IN A BURST of inspiration near the end of the poet''s life, Rilke''s Sonnets to Orpheus represents the consummation of the writer''s career, distilling the essence of his poetic wisdom in a gem-like sequence. This new translation--with the original German on facing pages--offers a clear window into the world of this endlessly scintillating cycle of poems. "Daniel Polikoff''s English version of Rilke''s last sonnet sequence, perhaps his greatest work, is wholly admirable. Rilke''s late work is extremely difficult to penetrate. Both its conceptual nature and Rilke''s unique use of the German language tend to resist interpretation. Astonishingly, Polikoff has found ways of rendering Rilke''s complexities into English and also preserving his metrical and rhyme schemes. Such an accomplishment is possible only with a deep understanding of Rilke''s vision and a knowledge of the root structure of German. Daniel Polikoff gives us Rilke in word and spirit in these splendid Sonnets."--LISEL MUELLER, National Book Award for Poetry (1981) for The Need to Hold Still; Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (1997) for Alive Together: New & Selected Poems "Daniel Polikoff is the first to achieve the unimaginable: an English translation which brings the form and content of these Sonnets together into an organic confluence. These new translations lift our understanding of Rilke''s spiritual and aesthetic inspiration up to a whole different level, one accessible for the first time to the English reader. As a professor of German literature who has taught these sonnets for over thirty years, I can only thank Daniel Polikoff for this phenomenal accomplishment. His version should serve as the new standard for Rilke translations and belongs on the bookshelves of every poetry lover."--LUDWIG MAX FISCHER, author of Seasons of the Soul: The Poetic Guidance of Herman Hesse "This is a uniquely faithful, skillful, and eloquent translation of one of the greatest poems of the 20th century. I salute Daniel Polikoff and recommend his wonderful work to all seekers and lovers of poetry."--ANDREW HARVEY, author of Teachings of Rumi Poet-scholar Daniel Joseph Polikoff has published two books of poetry as well as a major work on Rilke and depth psychology: In the Image of Orpheus: Rilke-A Soul History.

This representative selection from Rilke''s large and extraordinary correspondence provides a kind of spiritual autobiography of the poet. The period here covered reflects all the great experiences of Rilke''s early adult life: his difficult beginnings, his relationships with Lou Andreas-Salome and with his wife Clara, his two journeys to Russia, his contact with the Worpswede artists, the influence of Paris, the revelation of Cezanne. Many of the letters are psychologically revealing; many touch upon characteristic themes, or freshly transcribe experience that sooner or later passes into the poetry.

"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.

Influenced by the masters of Antiquity, the genius of Michelangelo and Baroque sculpture, particularly of Bernini, Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) is one of the most renowned artists in history. Though Rodin is considered a founder of modern sculpture, he did not set out to critique past classical traditions. Many of his sculptures were criticised and considered controversial because of their sensuality or hyperrealist qualities. His most original works departed from traditional themes of mythology and allegory, and embraced the human body, celebrating individualism and physicality. This book uncovers the life and career of this highly acclaimed artist by exploring his most famous works of art, such as the Gates of Hell, The Thinker and the infamous The Kiss.

Influenced by the masters of Antiquity, the genius of Michelangelo and Baroque sculpture, particularly of Bernini, Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) is one of the most renowned artists in history. Though Rodin is considered a founder of modern sculpture, he did not set out to critique past classical traditions. Many of his sculptures were criticised and considered controversial because of their sensuality or hyperrealist qualities. His most original works departed from traditional themes of mythology and allegory, and embraced the human body, celebrating individualism and physicality. This book uncovers the life and career of this highly acclaimed artist by exploring his most famous works of art, such as the Gates of Hell, The Thinker and the infamous The Kiss.

"The Book of hours, written in three bursts between 1899-1903, is Rilke''s most formative work, covering a crucial period in his rapid ascent from fin-de-siecle epigone to distinctive modern voice. The poems are crucial documents of Rilke''s development, from his tour around Russia with Lou Andreas-Salome, through his hasty marriage to Clara Westhoff in the artists'' community of Worpswede, to his turn toward the urban modernity of Paris. Rilke assumes the persona of an artist-monk undertaking the Romantics'' journey into the self, speaking to God as part transcendent deity, part needy neighbor. Echoes of his juvenile style persist, yet by the end of the book the influence of the sculptor Rodin is discernible in the distinctive idiom of urbanity, in the terminology of "things," and in Rilke''s turn to the everyday world around him."--Jacket flap.

Selected from ''Das Buch der Bilder'' and the two parts of ''Neue Gedichte, '' these poems were written in his less mystical period (1900-1908). The poems show Rilke''s deep concern with sculpture and painting and exhibit his particular artistic and poetic power. One of Germany''s most important poets, Rilke''s poetry is innovative, enigmatic, and entertainingly idiosyncratic. C.F. MacIntyre''s translations are both true to the original and poetic in their own right--From publisher description.

This a complete translation of Rainer Maria Rilke''s The Book of Hours that restores to the English-speaking reader a critical work in the development of a significant figure in 20th-century German poetry. Conveying an almost mystical conception of the relationship between God, the human being and nature, The Book of Hours (Das Stundenbuch, first published in 1905) is a series of intimate prayers written as if by a Russian monk turned painter - writings that bring to bear the profound influence of Rilke''s journeys to Russia and Italy at the turn of the century.

The reputation of Rainer Maria Rilke has grown steadily since his death in 1926; today he is widely considered to be the greatest poet of the twentieth century. This Modern Library edition presents Stephen Mitchell’s acclaimed translations of Rilke, which have won praise for their re-creation of the poet’s rich formal music and depth of thought. “If Rilke had written in English,” Denis Donoghue wrote in The New York Times Book Review, “he would have written in this English.” Ahead of All Parting is an abundant selection of Rilke’s lifework. It contains representative poems from his early collections The Book of Hours and The Book of Pictures; many selections from the revolutionary New Poems, which drew inspiration from Rodin and Cezanne; the hitherto little-known “Requiem for a Friend”; and a generous selection of the late uncollected poems, which constitute some of his finest work. Included too are passages from Rilke’s influential novel, The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, and nine of his brilliant uncollected prose pieces. Finally, the book presents the poet’s two greatest masterpieces in their entirety: the Duino Elegies and The Sonnets to Orpheus. “Rilke’s voice, with its extraordinary combination of formality, power, speed and lightness, can be heard in Mr. Mitchell’s versions more clearly than in any others,” said W. S. Merwin. “His work is masterful.”

Original publication and copyright date: 1991.

Rilke''s haunting images focus on the difficulty of communion with the ineffable in an age of disbelief, solitude, and profound anxiety. Rainer Maria Rilke felt that the world and all its joys most truly belonged to the young, and in Stories of God he captured for them the magic, charm and wisdom of fairy and folk tales.