The generous and unusual selection that the translator has made from Rilke’s large body of work has been praised by scholars for the judicious picture it offers of the breadth and depth of Rilke’s greatness. The German text is printed facing the translations, and the poems have been extensively annotated with relevant quotations from Rilke’s correspondence and other essential information. Noted poet and critic Robert Hass’s searching introduction, “Looking for Rilke,” discusses the span of Rilke’s career and his importance for the American poetic tradition.

This scrupulously edited, beautiful volume brings English-language readers the essential work of one of the supreme poets of modern times in a translation destined to be received as definitive.