Talk:Rainer Maria Rilke

Where's Heidegger?
Added reference under 'Influences' but this is a somewhat superficial characterisation as the link to Heidegger is more essential, i.e. they are "ideologically concurrent". Perhaps this should be a new section or merged into the main article, but the point on Heidegger in 'Influences' is somewhat conspicuous. Suggestions?Tsop 05:57, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
 * It is altogether possible that Heidegger had absolutely no influence on Rilke. If it is asserted that there was an influence, it should be proven beyond doubt by the use of quotations and citations.Lestrade 12:01, 5 September 2007 (UTC)Lestrade

Heidegger showed Rilke that a writer could use senseless and incomprehensible words and be considered a major intellect. Rilke saw that Heidegger became an international success by simply being unintelligible and obscure. These traits, as all professors know, are considered as signs of deep thinking.Lestrade (talk) 12:31, 7 May 2008 (UTC)Lestrade

Um, on the above, Heidegger didn't publish his first book till a year after Rilke's death. Influence is all one way here. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 2fennario (talk • contribs) 03:25, 19 January 2010 (UTC)

Related to this, there is no mention of Rilke as an existentialist. The very themes that make him a transitional figure between romantic and modernist poetry account for his inclusion among the existentialist tradition. Also note that there is more substance to this claim than the mere appropriation of Rilke's work by Heidegger, Arendt, and Walter Kaufmann. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.100.63.63 (talk) 14:14, 3 April 2009 (UTC)

This article lacks of an introductory text like the one it had in its first versions, i.e. :
"Rilke is generally considered the German language's greatest poet of the 20th century. Though he never found a consistent verse form, his haunting images tend to focus on the problems of Christianity in an age of disbelief, solitude, and profound anxiety. He is generally placed in the camp of Modernist poets, though his religious dilemmas may set him apart from some of his peers.

''He wrote in both verse and in a highly lyrical prose. His two most famous verse pieces are the Sonnets to Orpheus and the Duino Elegies; his two most famous prose pieces are the Letters to a Young Poet and the semi-autobiographical Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge."''


 * It's good to have a lead, but there are some problems with this one. I seriously don't think Rilke "focus on the problems of Christianity", neither was he a Modernist poet. In fact, his poetry is deliberately traditional - it may modern in its preoccupations, but not certainly of the Modernists in terms of technique. Mandel 03:09, Jun 13, 2005 (UTC)


 * Rilke did focus on the problems of Christianity, and recurrently so - most impressively perhaps in the "Brief eines jungen Arbeiters". Dexter 04:57, July 9, 2005 (GMT)


 * It's not clear enough what problems of Christianity he focus on. Rilke can be said somewhat like a "pagan" poet, so it's misleading to say that he focus on Christianity (eg. the "angels" in Duino Elegies are not Christian angels; he repeated invoked Buddhism, classical Greek figures before the era of Christ etc.)  Did he attack the institution of Christianity?  Was it because he found Christianity wanting in this age of anxiety?  Or was it really because he was interested in the question of religion at large?

Rilke's mature thought, it should be hard to miss, is wholly, and even virulently, anti-Christian. No doubt his symbolist and transcendental concerns were influenced by the religion he was raised with, but his reaction against that religion was complete. His angry rejection of the role of Christ in relations with the Divine (see the "Young Workingman's Letter") looks suspiciously like a desire to arrogate that role to himself; but, whatever you may think of it, his self-consciously UN-Christian stance is quite unmistakable, and a major element in his vision. Fixlein (talk) 17:20, 31 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Modernism is also a very precise term. Rilke is certainly not of the same school with Eliot and Pound, though he is definitely modern. Modern, not modernist. Mandel 09:48, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

Added a new influence, the band Rainer Maria. Pretty obvious one. I slipped it in under the other musical inspirations. I can't link a source to the merchandise I'm talking about, as the record label website is down, but I own one of the t-shirts with Rilke's face on it, so I know they exist. Frailgesture 07:08, 27 January 2006 (UTC)

Someone who knows more than I do about poetry should figure out what to say about modernism. I do know enough to remove the implication that being Christian disqualifies you from being a modernist. Also, the idea that a "consistent verse form" is a requirement for being a successful poet seemed like an assertion of opinion. Nareek 23:11, 18 February 2006 (UTC)

Czech, Austrian...?
Rilke was born and raised in what's now the Czech Republic, but it obviously wasn't the Czech Republic then.

However, looking at his bio here, it doesn't appear that he ever lived in a country called "Austria" either--by the time there was such an entity, he was living in Germany and then in Switzerland. Given that Austrian is not really an ethnicity, it seems odd to call him an Austrian if he never lived in Austria.

If we're identifying him by nationality, Austro-Hungarian is probably right--though I'm not sure that's a category. By ethnicity, "German" is probably correct. Nareek 20:19, 20 June 2006 (UTC)
 * I don't think he was ethnically German. I'm not sure on the ethnicities of his parents, but I would guess they were largely Czech / Austrian. Strictly speaking, yes, Austrian is an ethnicity, but it does not include all regions of the Austrian Empire -- it only includes what is considered to be historical Austria. And saying that his nationality was Austro-Hungarian is a bit of a problem because, by the time of his death, that nation didn't even exist anymore. WWI-era Czechs would have claimed that he was Czech, whether or not he was ethnically Czech, because he was from Bohemia. I don't know offhand what his citizenship status was post WWI. And as far as I know, Rilke never wrote or said anything significant on his own national identity. Honestly, I would just leave it out -- it's really academic. - Che Nuevara  00:40, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
 * He was from a family belonging to the German-speaking minority from Prague (then some 1/4th of the city's population), mother's rich family was from Alsacia, father was from a poor family from Švábice. Prague German was said to be more preserved in a sort of archaic state of development, hence was better for the kind of hermetic poetry. Rilke spent the end of WW1 in Munich; for being a friend of the revolutionaries, he left for Zurich - the possibility of being deported from there vanished in May 1920 when Czechoslovakia gave him citizenship and passport which enabled him to travel again. However, I agree that, given his political views on various topics, citizenship was not something that mattered to him, let's say, metaphysically. --HTO (talk) 16:32, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

It seems that he identified himself as Swiss, would that perhaps be more appropriate? --Harel Newman (talk) 23:23, 31 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, it's quite simple. In the intro we mention a person's nationality. As Rilke was born in Prague which then was part of the Austrian part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, his nationality was Austrian. Whether he spent much of his life abroad is irrelevant. Donna Leon still is an American writer, although she has spent quite some time in other countries, and has been residing in Italy for nearly two decades or so. --Catgut (talk) 00:19, 20 December 2009 (UTC)

Changed the intro, thus also replacing the weasel wording. --Catgut (talk) 17:02, 24 December 2009 (UTC)

Just logging a note that in fact Rilke did say a good deal about his nationality -- see Storck's edition of his "Briefe zur Politik." But he was not happy with being pinned down to any country, certainly not Austria once it was created. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 2fennario (talk • contribs) 03:20, 19 January 2010 (UTC)

Selection of works section
I find the Works section is unhelpful for the following reasons:
 * lack of titles in English
 * most volumes of Rilke's poetry have been translated by multiple translators, so why is listing one or two translators helpful unless they are all listed?

I think translators/translations would fit in better if placed within the article for each specific work. Does anyone have any objections or any other ideas for making this section clearer and more helpful? -- hibou 13:08, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

I think that William H. Gass's book, Reading Rilke, should be added to the list. He translates many of the poems himself, and his absence on this page is mystifying to say the least. Include in that, too, selections from his most recent work of criticism, A Temple of Texts. If i knew how, I'd do it myself.

68.161.238.60 16:29, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

My opinion on the two questions above: I think adding references to translations of each work is a great idea; and, I'm not familiar with Gass's book but if I had the citation details I'd be happy to add it.

My question is this - I would like to create a new article focused solely on Rilke's work, Geschichten vom lieben Gott (Stories of God). The article would focus on the work itself of course and also on how it fits into Rilke's overall body of work. I envision it to include references to prior scholarship as well as external links to three existing English translations. And this last bit is where there is a prima facie conflict of interest. My company has commissioned and owns one of these translations. I've never created an article before and would like guidance on what would be acceptable.

--Aventureworks (talk) 21:27, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

"generally considered the German language's greatest 20th century poet."
He's not, maybe one of the greatest but not the greatest.


 * Yup. In any case, this is a huge instance of weasel wording, especially since it's in the first frickin' sentence.  Clearly not everyone agrees Rilke is Germany's greatest 20th century poet, so it's very important to know just who.  And likely that "who" is whoever wrote that.  If you've got any sort of evidence to back up the claim (e.g. "75% of German lit professors say he's..."), you can put that in instead.  But as it is now, it's gotta go. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 130.58.237.227 (talk) 01:39, 28 March 2007 (UTC).


 * I confess I am a bit curious. I'm not disputing the assertion, but, I am made thoughtful by it. If Rainer Maria Rilke is not the greatest poet in the German language of the twentieth century, then who is? 70.31.46.131 (talk) 02:57, 15 September 2022 (UTC)

Pronunciation of name
It would be great if someone could add the pronunciation of his name, for the ignorants of the world (like me!). Thanks. --TotoBaggins 15:18, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Rilke's Religion
From the current form of the article, Rilke's religion is never mentioned, but his mother is mentioned as being Jewish. So it seems as though, from the article, Rilke was Jewish, but he was raised Roman Catholic (Josef Maria should be a dead giveaway). Do we have a reputable source (I just remember his religion being mentioned in a lecture) that can show that he was raised Roman Catholic? I'm going to add it, but also add "citation needed" so that it's clear that a source needs to be found, to clear up the confusion.

Lifthrasir1 06:10, 11 October 2007 (UTC)
 * "... it seems as though ... Rilke was Jewish ..."
 * That sort of depends on who you ask, doesn't it? According to Jewish law and tradition, that makes him Jewish, sure, but according to Catholic doctrine, if he was baptized Catholic, he's Catholic. I don't think it's a good idea to label someone Jewish just because he's of Jewish descent. I realize this probably wasn't your intention, but be careful not to confuse Jews with Jews.
 * Cheers - Che Nuevara 18:38, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

Rilke's mother may have been of Jewish background, but she was a devout Catholic herself. The suggestion (if that's what it is) that there is something surprising in Rilke's Catholic upbringing is quite wide of the mark. Any recent biography would be an acceptable citation for this. Fixlein (talk) 17:04, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

Fame and poetry
Rilke is regarded as one of the most famous poets in history. His poems are widely regarded as being of a superior quality. This is puzzling because he is almost totally unintelligible. It is not, however, generally permitted to make this statement.Lestrade (talk) 00:14, 6 May 2008 (UTC)Lestrade

Rilke's Christian beliefs
Rilke may be a notable poet with a considerable host of high brow admirers, but his Christian beliefs were offbeat resembling those of Dan Brown, and he may have been infected by the influence of the artist Auguste Rodin. Please read the book and article cited. Rodin's Christ and Mary Magdalene (1894):

http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/rodin/rodin_magdalen1.jpg

Wfgh66 (talk) 14:49, 30 June 2008 (UTC)


 * I would say that "infected" is a terrible choice of words, given the nature of religious belief. The quote seems to perpetuate its own agenda without adding much to the article. And I never read anything about this in Rilke's diary, which I read in German. But, it's cited, albeit by someone who seems to use Rilke to express her own mysticism surrounding the whole Mary Magdalen thing. Whatever. In any case, something like that doesn't belong in the lead of the article, so I moved it to the section "Rilke's literary style." Icarus of old (talk) 15:29, 30 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Hi, Haskins is not promoting "her own mysticism" in this case, she is simple repeating Rilke's religious beliefs as expressed in his poems, I urge you to read her book, as well as the article, which is available to those with JSTOR accounts. It's a good example of how beliefs about Jesus Christ can be generated by one's own wishful thinking just as much as from the accepted scholarly position. To my knowledge, there was no Christian sect that believed Jesus only became divine upon Crucifixion. This was Rilke's idiosyncratic invention. Rilke married one of Rodin's students, that's what influenced his religious beliefs according to both of the above authors. Wfgh66 (talk) 20:55, 30 June 2008 (UTC)
 * I would maintain that Haskins is "supposing" from Rilke's poems, as one cannot obtain facts from poems, only "poetic truths." This kind of research is literary, but that does not maintain actual facts, only scholarly opinion. It would be like me saying that I know for a fact that Jack Gilbert hates women because of his poetic treatment of them, which is pure speculation at best. Icarus of old (talk) 03:18, 1 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Rilke's references to Jesus were contained in unpublished poems. That speaks volumes in itself. At least we can get away from the speculation that the author was "plugging her own mystical beliefs".I still recommend that you read the article and book cited, and the references contained therein relating to the friendship between Rilke and Rodin. Highbrow intellectuals do hold their own particular idiosyncratic interpretations of Christianity that do not match the positions held by scholars and clerics. There is nothing new or remarkable about this. Wfgh66 (talk) 11:14, 1 July 2008 (UTC)

HBWDEKDMEDFMELD;KRFRTL/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.86.107.105 (talk) 19:58, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

However, given the Marien-Leben (1913), which though at times idiosyncratic, contains very little that would be unacceptable dogmatically to any Catholic, is it important to give the early Mary Magdelen views such prominence? I confess I haven't read the Haskins book or article, but it appears to be mostly based on early, unpublished works, written in Rilke's late teens and early twenties. Are we sure he held these views later in life? Have any other Rilke scholars endorsed Haskins' views - if not, I suggest removing this section completely, as it makes Rilke's youthful views on Christ and Mary Magdalen unnecessarily important. And they have nothing to do with "literary style". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.7.183.3 (talk) 23:32, 4 December 2011 (UTC)

Fashionable Rilke
Actress Jane Fonda mentioned Rilke in her autobiography? This makes me wonder if the mention of Rilke's name is a way to appear to be romantic or intellectual. I would like to hear actress Jane Fonda discuss the meaning or effect of Rilke's obscure artworks. The "Rilke's influence" section is very long. Many names are dropped as being people who have read and been influenced by Rilke. I wonder if that influence can be communicated? Why do I suspect that Rilke's name is mentioned for effect, especially by people who are in the entertainment field and are therefore often shallowly concerned with mere appearances?Lestrade (talk) 17:18, 24 June 2009 (UTC)Lestrade
 * I can't speak for the entertainment industry, but I've got enough experience in academia "from both sides of the lectern" to confidently say that more than a little of that sort of thing goes on there. There's a certain sort of person who would consider it horribly mundane to claim someone like Tennyson, Frost, etc. as a favorite poet.    Fortunately, such people are easily identified in academia by their refusal to admit watching any television other than PBS and their frequent use of terms like "Zeitgeist," "milieu," "ad hoc," etc. no matter what the topic of conversation.  I'm not denigrating Rilke's work or the sincere and informed appreciation many have for it, but I have seen that sort of thing happen often enough from people who clearly have nothing more than a superficial familiarity with Rilke that I'm convinced that namedropping him is, unfortunately, quite fashionable among the intellectually pompous; enough so that when someone I don't know mentions how much they love Rilke I'm immediately a little suspicious.  Now, is this relevant to the content of the article?  Well ... kinda, I suppose, but whaddya do about it?  The same sort of pretentiousness goes on everywhere else in life, you've gotta assume a certain level of basic knowledge and common sense among readers (otherwise every Wikipedia article would be fat with pointless elaborations and clarifications), and besides, it's not as if most of these people are claiming to have mastered Rilke's body of work, just that they're "influenced by" him -- which can mean almost anything.

Popular refs
I move to take out the list of Rainer Maria Rilke. Thousand of artists have been inspired by Rilke's work - composers, poets, painters etc. just as they have been inspired by Mozart, Shakespeare, Plato or Michelangelo's work. You will find no long list of works inspired by these people in their articles. Spanglej (talk) 19:41, 28 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I strongly agree. At the moment, it's an unsourced hodge-podge of items; if needed, Rilke's influence might be mentioned in those articles. On the other hand, coverage of Rilke in major works of literature, e.g. a movie about his life, a novel with Rilke as its central theme, or similarly significant works should probably be mentioned.
 * Simply removing the section seems a bit unhelpful to the reader; there should be a brief explanation about the extent of his influence in poetry, music, and other art forms. -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 03:53, 29 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Sure, I agree. Feel like having a go? Spanglej (talk) 04:36, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

René
"Rilke changed his first name from "René" to the more masculine Rainer at Lou's urging." This is nonsense. Now it may be nonsense that Lou Andreas-Salomé believed - I don't know so someone else will have to verify and change the wording accordingly. But as a matter of fact René is a perfectly common French masculine name. Renée would be feminine. Axel 00:36, 17 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Someone has apparently removed that sentence, but now there is no explanation in the article of why he is known as Rainer rather than by his given name. Something should be done about that. Languagehat (talk) 20:24, 16 May 2011 (UTC)

Lou thought that Rilke's mother, who was openly disappointed that she had not given birth to a daughter and dressed him as a girl in his infancy, had called him René in order to be ambiguous about his gender. That was why Lou recommended the name change. René may be masculine in French, but, it is closer to Renée than Rainer is. Rilke liked the change. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.156.95.130 (talk) 19:09, 9 June 2019 (UTC)

Lady Gaga's Rilke quote
When I came across Germanotta's (Lady Gaga) use of a Rilke quote in the mainstream press, I became intrigued and the following reference to her article: English: "Confess to yourself in the deepest hour of the night whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write. Dig deep in to you heart, where the answer spreads its roots in your being, and ask yourself in solemnly, must I write?"
 * The quote is: "[Erforschen Sie den Grund, der Sie schreiben heißt;] prüfen Sie, ob er in der tiefsten Stelle Ihres Herzens seine Wurzeln ausstreckt, gestehen Sie sich ein, ob Sie sterben müßten, wenn es Ihnen versagt würde zu schreiben. Dieses vor allem: Fragen Sie sich in der stillsten Stunde Ihrer Nacht: muss ich schreiben?", Letter from Rilke to Franz Xaver Kappus, Paris, 17 February 1903;

 This was as "absolutely unnecessary".

Generally, I like these kind of items relating to popular culture to appear in the articles of popular culture, but seeing that it has been removed there and now been, maybe it could be mentioned. I'm still ambivalent about it, but maybe there is general interest. -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 13:51, 2 July 2011 (UTC)
 * I agree, I feel it is important. Lady Gaga is (arguably) one of the most significant people alive on this planet. Her tattoo being placed on his arm is definitely worthy. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.94.240.194 (talk) 05:46, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Ahem … quote was tattooed on  arm. If this is to be mentioned, it should be on her article, because it says more about her than him. -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 11:52, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
 * It might have some bearing if Rilke is a major influence in her life. People pick up random tattoo quotes and images from all over the place. The tatoo artist may have suggested it; maybe she was drunk. If more could be unearthed about the Gaga/Rilke relationship it maybe worth revisiting. Span (talk) 14:16, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

Proposed Revision: AUGUST 2012
I'm not entirely happy with the scope and depth of this article and propose to begin a full-scale revision. Things I don't like: (1) The organization of the biography by years isn't descriptive, replace the years with titles, (2) there doesn't seem to be much connecting biography with work, (3) the list of RMR's works isn't clear because it seems to be a list of everyone else's translations and not a concise list of what RMR wrote, (4) there is little material on the interpretation of his work, its tone, symbols, themes, and the RMR's work in the modernist context and in today's popular understanding/use/interpretation. The intended goal would be to bring RMR to GA status. Does anyone have an suggestions or objections? --ColonelHenry (talk) 03:49, 4 August 2012 (UTC)
 * I think that's an excellent idea, and I'd love to see this important article attain GA status. A couple sources that might be useful:
 * Ryan, Judith. Rilke, Modernism, and Poetic Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
 * Harris, Stefanie. “Exposures: Rilke, Photography, and the City.” New German Critique 33.3 (Fall 	2006): 121-149.
 * Look forward to seeing how it shapes up! Sindinero (talk) 12:23, 4 August 2012 (UTC)

removing list of translations, revision 09FEB13
I removed this from the article because (a) it detracts from Rilke's list of works and (b) there's just too damn many translations and more coming every day. --ColonelHenry (talk) 17:27, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

Couldn't this become a separate page on the Wiki? If Rilke is an important poet (on which most who have an opinion likely agree), wouldn't it be preferred to have this as it's own page rather than having it moulder away here?108.52.119.247 (talk) 15:45, 8 September 2022 (UTC)

Collections

 * Rainer Maria Rilke, Duino Elegies and The Sonnets To Orpheus translated by A. Poulin, Jr. (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1975) ISBN 0-395-25058-7
 * The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, ed. and trans. Stephen Mitchell, Introduction by Robert Hass (Vintage; Reissue edition 13 March 1989)
 * Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, ed. and trans. Robert Bly New York, 1981
 * The Unknown Rilke, trans. Franz Wright (Oberlin College Press, expanded ed. 1990) ISBN 0-932440-56-8
 * New Poems/Neue Gedichte, trans. Stephen Cohn (Carcanet Press, 1992) ISBN 1-85754-770-5
 * The Book of Fresh Beginnings: Selected Poems, trans. David Young (Oberlin College Press, 1994) ISBN 0-932440-68-1
 * The Essential Rilke, ed. and trans. Galway Kinnell and Hannah Liebmann (Hopewell, NJ, 1999)
 * Uncollected Poems, trans. Edward Snow (North Point Press, New York, 1996)
 * The Poetry of Rilke, trans. Edward Snow (North Point Press, New York, 2009)
 * Two Prague Stories, trans. Isabel Cole (Vitalis, Český Těšín, 2002)
 * Pictures of God: Rilke's Religious Poetry, ed. and trans. Annemarie S. Kidder (Livonia, MI 2005)
 * Duino Elegies, Sonnets to Orpheus, Letters to a Young Poet: Box set, ed. and trans. Stephen Mitchell
 * "Rilke's Late Poetry: Duino Elegies, The Sonnets to Orpheus, and Selected Last Poems", ed. and trans. Graham Good (Ronsdale Press, Vancouver B.C., 2005)
 * Mood, John ''Rilke on Love and Other Difficulties. (New York: W. W. Norton 1975, reissue 2004) ISBN 0-393-31098-1
 * Mood, John. (2006) ''Rilke on Death and Other Oddities. Philadelphia: Xlibris ISBN 1-4257-2818-9
 * Letters on God and Letters to a Young Woman, ed. and trans. Annemarie S. Kidder (Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 2012)

Duino Elegies

 * Duineser Elegien: Elegies from the Castle of Duino, trans. Vita Sackville-West (Hogarth Press, London, 1931)
 * Duino Elegies, trans. J.B. Leishman and Stephen Spender (W. W. Norton, New York, 1939)
 * Duino Elegies, trans. Jessie Lemont (Fine Editions Press, New York, 1945)
 * Duineser Elegien: The Elegies of Duino, trans. Nora Wydenbruck (Amandus, Vienna, 1948
 * Duinesian Elegies, trans. Elaine E. Boney (University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1975)
 * Duino Elegies, trans. David Young (W. W. Norton, New York, 1978) ISBN 0-393-30931-2
 * Duino Elegies, trans. Gary Miranda (Azul Editions, Falls Church, VA, 1996) ISBN 885214-07-3
 * Duino Elegies, trans. Robert Hunter w/ block prints by Mareen Hunter (Hulogosi Press, 1989))
 * Duino Elegies trans. Stephen Cohn (Carcanet Press, 1989) ISBN 978-0-85635-837-1
 * Duino-Elegieë trans. H.J. Pieterse from German to Afrikaans (Protea, Pretoria, 2007) ISBN 978-1-86919-151-1
 * Duino Elegies, trans. Martyn Crucefix (Enitharmon Press, London, 2008)

Sonnets to Orpheus

 * Sonnets to Orpheus, trans. with notes and commentary J.B. Leishman (Hogarth Press, London, 1936)
 * Sonnets to Orpheus, trans. M.D. Herder Norton (W. W. Norton, New York, 1942)
 * Sonnets to Orpheus, trans. C. F. MacIntyre, (U.C. Berkeley Press, 1961)
 * Sonnets to Orpheus, trans. Jessie Lemont (Fine Editions Press, New York, 1945)
 * Sonnets to Orpheus, trans. with notes Stephen Mitchell (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1985)
 * Sonnets to Orpheus, trans. Stephen Cohn with Letters to a Young Poet (Carcanet Press, 2000) ISBN 978-1-85754-456-5
 * Sonnets to Orpheus, trans. with notes and commentary Edward Snow (North Point Press, New York, 2004) ISBN 0-86547-721-3
 * Sonnets to Orpheus, trans. Willis Barnstone (Shambhala Publications, Boston, 2004)
 * Sonnets to Orpheus, trans. Leslie Norris and Alan Keele (ed. Lucien Jenkins) (Camden House, Inc 1989)
 * Sonnets to Orpheus, trans. Robert Hunter
 * Orpheus, trans. Don Paterson (Faber, 2006)

Other collections

 * Stories of God, trans. M. D. Herter Norton (W. W. Norton, New York, 1932) ISBN 0-393-30882-0
 * Stories of God, trans. Michael H. Kohn (Shambhala, Boston, 2003) ISBN 978-1-59030-038-1
 * Stories of God, trans. Various, edited by Jack Beacham (Aventure Works, Hudson, Ohio, 2009) ISBN 1-4392-2561-3
 * Letters to a Young Poet, trans. M. D. Herter Norton (W. W. Norton, New York, 1934) ISBN 0-393-31039-6
 * Letters to a Young Poet, trans. Mark Harman (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2011) 112 pages ISBN 978-0-674-05245-1
 * Letters on God and Letters to a Young Woman, trans. Annemarie S. Kidder (Northwestern University Press, 2012)
 * Poems from The Book of Hours trans. Babette Deutsch (New Directions, New York, 1941)
 * The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, trans. M.D. Herter Norton (W.W. Norton, New York, 1949) ISBN 0-393-30881-2
 * The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, trans. Stephen Mitchell (New York, 1983)
 * The Lay of the Love and Death of Cornet Christophe Rilke, trans. Stephen Mitchell (Graywolf Press, 1985) ISBN 0-915308-77-0
 * The Lay of the Love and Death of Cornet Christophe Rilke, trans. Alfred Perlès (Turret Books, UK, 1987) ISBN 0-85469-086-7
 * The Book of Hours: Prayers to a Lowly God, trans. Annemarie S. Kidder (Northwestern University Press, 2001)
 * Larenopfer, trans. and commentary by Alfred de Zayas, with drawings by Martin Andrysek (Red Hen Press, Los Angeles, 2005, 2nd revised and enlarged edition with a preface by Ralph Freedman, 2008)
 * Rainer Maria Rilke's The Book of Hours: A New Translation with Commentary, trans. Susan Ranson, edited with an introduction and notes by Ben Hutchinson (Camden House, New York/Boydell & Brewer Ltd, Woodbridge, UK, 2008) ISBN 978-1-57113-380-9
 * Rilke's Book of Hours: Love Poems to God, translated by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy; New York: Riverhead Books(1996); ISBN 1-59448-156-3
 * The Book of Hours, translated by Christine McNeill and Patricia McCarthy (Agenda Editions, UK, 2007) ISBN 978-0-902400-84-9
 * Prayers of a Young Poet, translated by Mark S. Burrows (Paraclete Press, US, 2012) ISBN 978-1-61261-076-4

Rilke as a Bohemian-Austrian poet or an Austrian of German Bohemian ethnicity??
BACKSTORY: User:RGloucester edited the article twice to call Rilke "a German Bohemian poet and novelist" and then revised it to describe him as "an Austrian poet and novelist of German Bohemian origin". The previous versions described him as "a Bohemian-Austrian poet and novelist." These two comments below are from my talk page, I moved them here for germaneness (no pun intended) to this article and to center this ongoing discussion here. Please obtain a consensus that is both historically and ethnically accurate, and I hope this doesn't turn into a petty squabble like the lengthy intransigent battle on whether Armenia was a European country or an Asian country.

Comments moved from ColonelHenry's talk page
"German Bohemian" does not refer to the state. It refers to the ethnicity. It is the term for those Germans from Bohemia. Rilke is one of those. It has absolutely nothing to do with the German Reich. "Austrian" as an ethnicity did not exist until after the fall of the Empire. Previously, they what we now call Austrians would've referred to themselves as Germans. Regardless, Rilke was a German Bohemian. Bohemia was never part of the German state, which only arose in 1871 anyway. RGloucester (talk) 19:10, 5 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Rilke was born in 1875, after the German state was unified (1871), and after 1866 when Bismarck excluded Austria from joining the new German state (Otto didn't like the idea of a multi-ethnic Germany). So from 1866 to the end of WWI, the term "Austrian" is historically accurate and ethnically appropriate for residents of Cisleithania, which included the Bohemia that wasn't calling itself "German" but Austrian until the Anschluss, and especially in the case of Rilke, who (according to himself, and his many biographers and literary scholars) didn't think of himself as "German" in the slightest notion.--ColonelHenry (talk) 20:02, 5 May 2013 (UTC)

'''REMOVED THIS DISCUSSION TO Talk:Rainer Maria Rilke. Comment there.'''
 * Further, (1) Rilke himself eschewed identifying himself by ethnicity, preferring to be a cosmopolitan European from Prague; (q.v. his <>) (2) his father was an Austrian army officer, and even though German Bohemians still identified themselves as German on government documents in Austria, there's no mention in biographies (which largely call him Austrian, and qualified as being of a German-speaking minority in Prague) of his father identifying as "German" at a time when pan-german nationalism was dying down because of Bismarck's exclusion and the emergence of a discrete "austrian" identity. (3) His father, although part ethnic-German was also very slavic (czech and polish) (and catholic), and his mother was largely of jewish/slavic origins. (4) Rilke, likely very well aware of his large slavic/Jewish ancestry, did not call himself "German" and purposefully avoided that as a label his entire life, the closest he identified with any nation was adopting Switzerland in the 1920s.--ColonelHenry (talk) 20:41, 5 May 2013 (UTC)

To RGloucester: Your memo on one of your edits state "German Bohemian has nothing to do with the German state. It is the term for those ethnic Germans from Bohemia. See my message on your talk."
 * And it is not entirely accurate to describe an Austrian of German, Polish, Slavic and Jewish descent, who didn't identify as German.--ColonelHenry (talk) 20:47, 5 May 2013 (UTC)


 * None of this is necessary. I merely am stating, correctly, that he is a member of an ethnic group, that is, he is a German Bohemian: a German-speaker from Bohemia (in German, the term is Deutschböhmen). I never said he wasn’t "Austrian", but that was not an ethnic descriptor at the time. It merely described any citizen of the Cisleithania. I feel that this should be mentioned, as the culture he originated from is important to his being, even if he rejected it. I am not questioning any of his own reasoning, merely stating that "yes", he was a German-speaker from Bohemia. RGloucester  (talk) 21:41, 5 May 2013 (UTC)


 * I’m not going to fight a battle of this. I’ve put it back. But I will say "Austrian-Bohemian" is a contrived and nonsensical way to describe him. Either say he is an "an Austrian so and so from Bohemia" or call him the traditional term "German Bohemian". If it is left this way, so be it. But it simply won’t be a very good way to describe him. RGloucester  (talk) 21:48, 5 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I would have no problem with "an Austrian poet of German Bohemian origins" if it were an improvement in overall accuracy. However, it is not. By trading the current text for this is trading one partially correct label for another partially correct label. German Bohemian isn't his only ethnic origin.  I admit, I'm not happy with "Austrian-Bohemian", but if several scholars use it in their quick descriptions, it's good enough for the interim until we figure out a better way of labeling his ethnic background in a historically accurate, comprehensive, and uncluttered way.  I doubt "an Austrian poet of German Bohemian, Slavic, and Jewish origins" would be an aesthetically-acceptable summary.--ColonelHenry (talk) 03:25, 13 May 2013 (UTC)

Where is the evidence for the baseless assumption that his mother was Jewish and Slavic? Why are people on wikipedia so obsessed with making non-Jewish people magically Jewish? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1700:69C1:2A00:5D07:6B35:587C:E238 (talk) 18:51, 29 November 2018 (UTC)

Rilke in the US
Can someone post the relevant sections from the source used in support of the claim ‘In the United States, Rilke is one of the more popular, best-selling poets—along with 13th-century Sufi mystic Rumi and 20th-century Lebanese-American poet Khalil Gibran’? I don't think Rilke is that well-known here. The source is Rilke in America: A Poet Re-Created by Kathleen Komar. Esszet (talk) 02:29, 2 August 2013 (UTC)
 * In summary: Komar has studied a lot of the popular culture penetration of Rilke in the US, pointing out how many new "translations" of his poems are released by publishers each year (that practically every major publisher has at least one new Rilke title on their active list every year) and that his works in various collections, anthologies, compilations, editions etc., consistently sell about 170,000-200,000 books a year--more than any American poet. As far as posting relevant sections...you could just buy the book instead of freeloading.--ColonelHenry (talk) 04:50, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

Clothes
I'm particularly skeptical about the claim that his mother dressed him in girls' clothes because of gender issues. It was in fact standard for the Austro-Hungarian middle classes to dress young boys in dresses until they reached a certain age, after which they began wearing pants. Maybe the cited source provides further evidence, but the picture of a boy in a dress simply shows that he was a bourgeois boy of that time and place. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.134.193.84 (talk) 09:16, 1 December 2013 (UTC)
 * The source given is pretty strong. It features an excerpt from the biography The life of the poet: Rainer Maria Rilke  By Ralph Freedman who is emeritus professor of comparative literature at Princeton. If you wish to discuss alternative sources, please list them on this talk page. Thanks Span (talk) 16:59, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

Anti-semite
No discussion of his attitudes towards Jews? Didn't he object to Karl Kraus as having a "unrepeatable difference", which the Sidonie Nadherna entry describes as referring to "his Jewish heritage". 14.0.174.140 (talk) 11:33, 9 June 2020 (UTC)


 * I doubt it worth discussing. Although I've seen one review harshly accusing Rilke of being anti-semitic (https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/reviews/rilke.htm), I discount that review as being entirely out of balance on several other aspects of Rilke's life.  I've also seen in-depth examinations of the question such as (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1996/04/to-work-is-to-live-without-dying/376572/) that address the claim extensively and rule it out.  Note also that Rilke's beloved academic sponsor and many of his friends were Jewish. Harborsparrow (talk) 15:53, 14 October 2022 (UTC)

His lover Lou was a woman
Section Duino and the First World War (1911–1919) includes, without elaboration, the sentence "From 1914 to 1916 he had a turbulent affair with the painter Lou Albert-Lasard." "Lou" in English is normally a masculine name, usually short for "Louis", which implies that this was a homosexual affair. The article reveals that Lou Albert-Lasard was a woman. Shouldn't this be made clear in the text?

--Thnidu (talk) 20:03, 21 September 2020 (UTC)

Herrengasse (Panská) 8
This address in Prague is curious to me. Herrengasse is German for "Street of the Lords" or "Lords Lane", and exists in Vienna, Graz, and Bern, and so maybe many other cities as well. The Lords referred to proximity of the nobles' residences to the castle. If Herrengasse in Prague was renamed to Panská 8, the location of Panska 8 is across the river, not next to the Castle. The Golden lane in Prague, IS next to the Castle, and WAS home to writers Kafka and Seifert. Can you see where Prague common knowledge would require further documentation about the location of Rilke's childhood ? SalineBrain (talk) 05:40, 5 August 2021 (UTC)

How did Rainer meet Princess Marie?
She is so important that he dedicates his elegies to her, and he may not have heard the voice that inspired him to write his first elegy if he was not invited to stay at her castle. How did Rainer meet Princess Marie?

Edit: I found a book of recollections on Rainer by Princess Marie, perhaps it can be found there.

CalebSohSweeKai (talk) 09:08, 2 October 2023 (UTC)

Lao Tzu
No mention that he is the first to ever translate Lao Tzu? 79.106.203.80 (talk) 08:17, 28 March 2024 (UTC)