Rilke: New Poems

“Essential for all poetry collections…Originally published in 1907 and 1908 in two volumes, the 200 poems contained in this bilingual single volume represent a period of intense creativity in the poet’s career. Translator Joseph Cadora renders a beautiful new edition complete with commentary on each poem at the end, based on Rilke’s letters, numerous biographies, and related works as well as an introduction outlining his approach to the translation..”—Library Journal, starred review

“[The] renderings of the canonical poems, such as “The Panther,” “Orpheus, Eurydice, Hermes,” and “Archaic Torso of Apollo” (to name a few), are worthwhile additions to the enormous body of Rilke’s work already translated by others. Cadora’s willingness to translate nearly two hundred poems is admirable, since many themes recur and develop.”—Booklist

"Through him resounds the music of the universe."—Herman Hesse

Rainer Maria Rilke is one of the world's best-selling poets, and New Poems contains many of his most iconic pieces. Throughout, Rilke he is obsessed with shapes and different layers of physical containment—from an image held in a panther's eye to a cathedral window. Translator Joseph Cadora has created the definitive English-language version through meticulous faithfulness to Rilke's German and insightful commentary on each of the four hundred-plus poems. As Cadora said in an interview, "I tried to stay true to the vision of Rilke that would invite the reader into his world, not mine." Bilingual, with an introduction by Robert Hass.

The Panther:

From endless passing of the bars his gazehas wearied—there is no more it can hold. There seem to be a thousand bars always, and past those thousand bars there is no world.

The soft pad of his brawny, rippling paceturns itself in a tightening circle till, like a mighty dance around a tiny space, it centers a numb but still enormous will.

But at times the shades of his pupils rise,grasping an image he cannot resist; through his tense, unmoving limbs it flies, and within his heart it ceases to exist.

Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926) is one of the world's most beloved poets. Working at the cusp of the century, Rilke bridged the gap between traditional and modernist poetics. Born in Prague, Rilke traveled widely across Europe and Egypt, and lived for many years in Paris.

Joseph Cadora is a guitarist, writer, and translator. He lives in Berkeley, California.