Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #151355 in Books
• Published on: 1995-08-01
• Released on: 1995-08-01
• Original language: German
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 640 pages

Customer Reviews

5 stars for the original poetry, 1 star for the translations
Rilke is just about my favourite poet... a true master. In the German, his verse is just sublime.

These translations, however, are shockingly bad. Not only does the translator completely ignore (or distort) some of the key images, he invents new ones for no apparent reason. Mitchell seems to think he is there to improve on the original. He doesn't.

If you don't read German, you should only buy this to read Mitchell's verse. You won't be getting Rilke's.

Lush, Alive and Vivid Addition to Your Rilke Collection
I am a passionate, ardent admirer of Rilke so
before I even opened this book I knew I would
be delighted because of its sheer weight and size.

Oh, YES! I thought to myself.

And then I opened it - and the very first selection
is Rilke's evocative poem, "I live my life in
Widening Circles" with the German on one page
and the English on the facing page.

I don't even speak German - but I love looking
at Rilke's original words - just LOOKING at them
elevates me. I also think that the side-by-side
translation says something of translater Stephen
Mitchell's love for the original.

I also enjoyed the Selected Prose. In reading it
I felt like I was stepping into Rilke's den for
a chat and either strong coffee or a cocktail.

This would be an excellent introduction to Rilke
or a fine compliment to anyone's Rilke Library.

poetry from the soul
I recently discovered Rilke, and am much the better for it - his craft with words literally gives one goosebumps. The poetry portion of _Ahead of All Parting_ is dual language, so readers of German can enjoy the original as well as Mitchell's translations. The book also contains copious notes about many of the poems (when they were written, what was going on in Rilke's life) as well as a section of his published and unpublished prose, which I found almost as vivid and beautiful as his poetry. The book itself is also physically beautiful - the pages are delicate, further adding to the sensusousness of the reading experience.