Poems by Rainer Maria Rilke: A 150th Anniversary Reader

Rainer Maria Rilke wrote many short lyric poems of remarkable beauty and intensity. In honor of Rilke's 150th birthday, Donald Mace Williams has selected some of the best and brought these works of one of the 20th century's most influential poets to English-speaking audiences. Williams's translations capture the eloquence and character of Rilke's own words while preserving the metrical verse of the original poems, which are presented side-by-side with the English translations. Williams's translation of "The Girl Grown Up," included in this collection, was selected as the winner of the 2024 Der Hovanessian Translation Prize by the New England Poetry Club.