Rilke delves into familiar existential themes, loneliness and longing in this collection of poems, highlighting the universal experience of melancholy through the personal.

(Based on ARC). Hard to believe this, most of this anyhow, hadn’t been translated into English until now. Started in the end of 1913, Rilke’s Poems to Night, takes the reader through familiar existential themes, pain, loneliness, longing in his simple, yet complex, style.

It’s a short read at 90-ish pages, but found myself rereading much of it a second time, jumping here and there, as this each poem collection has the commonality of night, each poem can be read alone or can be read as a small piece of the whole.

Also contains drafts of many of the poems as well as other night poems.

Well worth the read.

"...almost organic indecipherability…" I do like a book whose introduction provides the review. Yes, academics of this kind of interminable dross will love the fact these poems (for which read: effectless assemblings of words for zero benefit) are here, all present and correct in English for the first time, and added to by works that might have been addenda to them at one point. But coming to this with my Average Commuter Reader's cap on, this was a waste of time. No offence to you if this is your kind of thing, but rest assured you are so thin on the ground in number I have to point out the great number of people thinking about this book will dislike it.

Quick easy read. The cover is beautiful and I enjoyed some of the poems. I expected them to be more about the night than they were but overall was an ok book.

A gorgeous collection of poems that are perfect for reading at night while looking at the moon. I absolutely had a great time reading these gorgeous poems. All of them are just haunting and mystical. If you love poetry then I would highly recommend this collection of never before translated poems from the great Rainer Maria Rilke.

*Thanks Netgalley and Pushkin Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*