I have several books by Rilke, but I think my favourite work is the Duino Elegies.

The poet was born in Prague in a German speaking community and wrote in German most of his life, then in French in his latter years in Switzerland.

So his works have been translated into English, which relies, naturally, on the sensibilities of the translator. Nevertheless, he is very much worth investigating. Few poets have suffered more for their art.

Copyright Francis 2021