Rilke Trilogy: Duino Elegies, Letters to a Young Poet, Sonnets to Orpheus

by Rainer Maria Rilke, Stephen Mitchell (Translator)

A boxed set of mini-books of three Rilke classics.

Genres: Poetry

Paperback

First published August 1, 1993

About the author

A mystic lyricism and precise imagery often marked verse of German poet Rainer Maria Rilke, whose collections profoundly influenced 20th-century German literature and include The Book of Hours (1905) and The Duino Elegies (1923).

People consider him of the greatest 20th century users of the language.

His haunting images tend to 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.

His two most famous sequences include the Sonnets to Orpheus , and his most famous prose works include the Letters to a Young Poet and the semi-autobiographical The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge .

He also wrote more than four hundred poems in French, dedicated to the canton of Valais in Switzerland, his homeland of choice.

Reviews

[Susan Oleksiw · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read only the "Letters to a Young Poet," translated by Stephen Mitchell.

Rilke's letters are known for their grace, generosity, and perspicacity about the need for solitude, and the struggle to find the correct balance between that and sociability.

[Sheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The audiobook I found did not include Letters to a Young Poet, but it was translated and read by Stephen Mitchell, who has a great voice for poetry.
My first real experience with Rilke.
The language is very overwrought--sometimes appropriately so, when dealing with larger themes of Love and Death; sometimes less appropriately so, like when exalting someone to "Dance The Orange."
The earlier elogies though, made my breath catch several times.

[Iñäqui Ilarragorri · Rating 5 out of 5]

como no llegué a esto antes
lean a rilke por favor
todo momento es buen momento

[Gabriel Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peerless. Poetry to live by.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely will be re-reading this. (Also, I only read the Letters. This was the only choice for the Stephen Mitchell translation. )

[Miguel A. Alvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leer antes de comprar:

https://miguelalvarezescritor.com/202...

Saludos

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. A lot of intelligent stuff to say.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Only read Letters to a Young Poet; Good Reads doesn't list Mitchell's translation as a single volume.) "Letters..." had inspiring, therapeutic advice about writing, experience, solitude, sadness, and love. Readable in one sitting. I wanted to underline everything in the first third of the book.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and earnest.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love reading letters.

[Mafe Ramirez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me gusto, estuvo entretenido, me genero un bloqueo lector pero estuvo vacan.

3.0 ⭐️

[Tehani]

Only read Letters to a Young Poet and Duino Elegies