Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), the author of Sonnets to Orpheus and Letters to a Young Poet, was one of the greatest poets of the German language. Alfred Corn is a poet, novelist, and essayist. The recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim, and the National Endowment for the Arts, he lives in Providence, Rhode Island.
Corn's subtle and sinuous translation lets Rilke sing in English with the sensual undertones and lyrical precision that lend this masterpiece of world literature such resonance even today. -- Ulrich Baer, author of The Dark Interval