| Poems: Book One of Our Trakl Contributor(s): Trakl, Georg (Author), Reidel, James (Translator) |
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ISBN: 0857422464 ISBN-13: 9780857422460 Publisher: Seagull Books OUR PRICE: $22.50 Product Type: Hardcover Published: May 2015 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Poetry | European - German |
| Dewey: 831.912 |
| Series: German List |
| Physical Information: 0.6" H x 4.9" W x 8.6" (0.50 lbs) 120 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Germany |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The work of poet Georg Trakl, a leading Austrian-German expressionist, has been praised by many, including his contemporaries Rainer Maria Rilke and Else Lasker-Sch ler, as well as his patron Ludwig Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein famously wrote that while he did not truly understand Trakl's poems, they had the tone of a "truly ingenious person," which pleased him. This difficulty in understanding Trakl's poems is not unique. Since the first publication of his work in 1913, there has been endless discussion about how the verses should be understood, leading to controversies over the most accurate way to translate them. This new translation, the first book in a three-volume collection of Trakl's work, marks the hundredth anniversary of Trakl's death during the first months of World War I. In a refreshing contrast to previous translated collections of Trakl's work, James Reidel is mindful of how the poet himself wished to be read, emphasizing the order and content of the verses to achieve a musical effect. Trakl's verses were also marked by allegiance to both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a fact which Reidel honors with impressive research into the historicity of the poet's language. Poems sets itself apart as the best translation of Trakl available today and will introduce English readers to the powerful verses of this wartime poet. |
Contributor Bio(s): Trakl, Georg: - Georg Trakl (1887-1914) was an Austrian-German expressionist poet.Reidel, James: - James Reidel is a poet, translator, and biographer. In addition to collections of his own poems, he has published translations of works by Georg Trakl, Franz Werfel, Robert Walser, Thomas Bernhard, and others. A fellow of the James Merrill House, he wrote Manon's World after nearly a decade of research. |