Fifty poems by Rilke

“In Rilke not only do the stones and trees become human—as they have done always and everywhere poems have been made—but humans become things and nameless beings and only then gain their ultimate humanity.” —Robert Musil FIFTY POEMS Rainer Maria Rilke Translated from the German by Geoffrey Lehmann Rilke is one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century, revered throughout the world. Geoffrey Lehmann has selected fifty of Rilke’s finest poems from the two volumes of New Poems, considered the center of gravity of Rilke’s achievement. Lehmann’s refined ear and perfect mastery of English verse form give his renderings of Rilke a precision and poise equal to that of the German originals, which are also included in this edition. Fifty Poems coincides with the 150th anniversary of Rilke’s birth—a brilliant occasion to discover or revisit his sublime and mysterious verse. For three days only, Fifty Poems is available at 25% off. BUY THE BOOK   Read two poems from Fifty Poems Apprehension In the faded wood there is a birdcall. The birdcall seems to make no sense at all, yet lingers in the faded wood, a sound as round and wide as the sky. All things fit easily inside the cry. Mutely the landscape seems to lie in it, the great wind seems to nestle in it, and the impatiently ticking minute stops and goes pale, as though it knows things that would have us die, and rose out of the cry. Parting They call it parting and I know it well. It arrives darkly, overwhelming you, pretends it’s holding out that fragile spell you’re losing, laughs and tears it into two. You’re facing an unbearable abyss, when what has held you, lets go in your mind, becoming, now it has been left behind, all women, a white point, no more than this: A waving, an attenuated goodbye to something that’s estranged and almost now inexplicable: a shaking plum-tree bough whose cuckoo has just flown into the sky.   An event for Fifty Poems with Geoffrey Lehmann and Edwin Frank Wednesday, October 29, at 7pm ET Community Bookstore 143 7th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215 Register here You are receiving this message because you signed up for email newsletters from NYRB. You can choose the types of mailings you wish to receive: Update preferences   New York Review Books 207 East 32nd Street New York, NY 10016-6305 Not a subscriber? Sign up for our newsletter here. Unsubscribe