Thanks to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for an advanced copy of “Poems to Night” in exchange for an honest review.

While I have read translated letters by Rilke in the past and thoroughly enjoyed and been inspired by them, this was my first time diving into a larger collection of his translated poetry.

I will say that I loved the introduction composed by Will Stone. At times I find introductory sections to be written in a cold and clinical way, but Stone’s introduction clearly demonstrates his passion for his translation work, as well as Rilke’s life and writing. He is eloquent and educated but still in an approachable way, and I was struck by that. To be honest, it may have been one of my favourite parts of the book.

As for the collection, there were certainly poems and imagery that stood out more than others. It’s difficult because night was obviously an overwhelming theme in Rilke’s writing, but the consistent theme and imagery of night, stars, and angels also cause some of the poems to run together in my remembering of the book. I think what would be ideal is dividing the works into their further themes to help make the poems more distinguishable.

The poems that especially drew me in were “The Siblings,” “Strong, silent, candelabra placed,” “Let him be what you will,” “Straining so hard against the powerful night,” “Overflowing skies of squandered stars,” “Is pain - as soon as the ploughshare,” and “Lifting one’s eyes from the book, from the close and countable lines.”

What I feel these works have in common are that they had additional imagery apart from the above mentioned that made them distinct to me. Additionally, the poems in which Rilke is lamenting about death, grief, pain, and feeling more futile and transitory were the ones I connected with more.

I think this is a collection I would like to revisit in print form rather than an ebook version. At this time, I didn’t feel as drawn in and focused when I was reading it as I thought I would be, but I still found beauty in sections of the book.

This edition by Pushkin Press and translated by Will Stone, presents the twenty-two poems in one volume translated into english for the first time.

It is divided into:
Poems to Night, drafts of Poems to Night, and further poems and sketches related to the Night.

I have read some of Rainer Maria Rilke's poems before, so when I saw this book about the "night theme" it immediately called my attention. Although, I couldn't find what I was expecting. It's hard to explain why, but I just can say that I haven't been able to really feel what they say.

Thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I do not usually purchase books of poetry anymore, or really read more than the occasional one off. But this book spoke to me! I love Rainer Maria Rilke's work. I especially love a whole book of it!

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this poetry collection.

Rainer Maria Rilke's Poems to Night is a stunning exploration of sorry and mystery. I have read Rilke's works before and really enjoyed this collection and I am glad it is available for audiences to enjoy.

I absolutely love poetry, and love even more the theme of ‘Night’. I was very excited to receive this book of poetry dedicated solely to Night, in return for a review.

I have always felt drawn to the night time, when I am sad, angry, upset or even happy I feel the need to go for a walk in the dark, or to take a drive and sit in the dark somewhere and just be at one with the great universe. This poetry ,all exploring themes of nighttime seems to portray this inner lust for the nighttime in the same manner. I really enjoyed the different elements of the night, from the feelings of great vast nothingness, to the ethereal and almost divine.

My favorite line: “Overflowing skies of squandered stars splendour over grievance. Rather than into pillows, weep upwards. Here, at the weeping, at the ending face, proliferating, begins the enraptured world space. Who will interrupt, if you thrust that way, the flow? No one.”

This was a great little compilation of poetry from Rainer Rilke and I enjoyed the journey.

Poems to Night is a translation and adaptation of Rilke. One of the things I was a little wary about was the accessibility of the writing, since this work was written in the 1910's, and poetry collections don't have the best reputation within the "long lasting legibility" book groups. However, it was not difficult at all! this is also credit to the translator who was able to convey genuineness into this translation.
An overall critique I'd like to make is the consequence of making an entire poetry collection covering only one topic, repetitiveness. But at the same time, I was fully aware of this since is one characteristic of poetry books that focus in only one main theme.
As a conclusion, this was a mostly enjoyable experience with a predictable setback.

I've enjoyed all of Rainer Maria Rilka's poetry that I've read but Poems to Night especially are some of the best.

I remember reading a couple of letters from “Letters to a young poet” several months ago but unfortunately I could not finish the read. But I knew that I would be coming back for more of his brilliant works. Which I did. The moment I saw the poet’s name I knew that I was going to pick it up.
A set of 22 stunning poems and several drafts that need sheer concentration to read and enjoy. I expected a little for these poems to send me back and question my entire taste in poetry. I can not comment on these poems as that is beyond my ability. All I can do is praise this book. Despite titled ‘poems to night’, this book made me sit resting my chin against my wrist and ponder in broad daylight. I wonder why people don’t write such deep poetries these days.
To be able to enjoy creations in other languages, I think, literary translators play a major roll. It takes a lot for them to put almost the same effort as the creator in a different language. For the translation and introduction in this book, applause for Stone.
Thank you NetGalley and Steerforth Press for providing this digital copy.

Poetry, like music, finds much of its beauty in the fact that it can be interpreted a thousand different ways by a thousand different people. Rilke's poetry is considered by many to be mystical. To me it seems not so much mystical as horribly, despairingly earthbound. What do these words of his mean? Read them at the age of twenty and again at forty and you will glean two entirely different meanings. What is the Night to which he writes? It is at times passion, prayer, torment, longing, loneliness. His words are musings or madness or something in between.

This is not clear, simple poetry. There are no rhyming lines, no steady march of syllables. This is poetry in its purest form, raw and conflicted and defying explanation. It is not for everyone, or even for every time. It may perplex you one year, grieve you the next, annoy you another. But when that time comes and you read just the right piece at just the right time, then the Night will sing for you.

Which is a fancy way of saying: you may or may not like this kind of poetry. But you'll never know until you try. And try again.

"Everywhere craving for connection and nowhere desire, world too much and earth enough."

As always, Pushkin Press provides a wonderful little window into the world of an author. Although Poems to Night is my first Rilke (shame on me), the exceptional introduction and selected texts gave me a great idea of whether to keep exploring his work - to which, the answer, is yes. My only concern is that, as a new reader, this was simply not the best place to start.. No faulting the book for that. In any case, the cover design is gorgeous, as well. I can already see it on the shelf. A great gift for someone who has already fallen in love with Rilke's work.

This translated book of poetry by Rainer Maria Rilke. Whilst reading it, I could just tell he poured vast amounts of emotion and personality into this, which made for a good read!

Not my favourite book on poems but I feel poems are a very personal thing and opinions will vary drastically.

At the time I read them none of them resonated with me or evokes any feelings however that may differ is I read them while in a different mind set so I don’t want to discredit them in any way.

I would definitely recommend to friends interested in poetry and will probably revisit them myself when in a different frame of mind.

This is a perfectly lovely collection of poems best suited to those who are already fans of Rilke's work. These are of course translated, so your personal preference may vary, but this is a fine addition to any poetry collection.

To summarize my review, my feelings towards this book are basically Lady Gaga in that interview where she said: "talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before,etc."
Now my actual review:

With every new thing I read about Rilke, I fall more and more in love with his ideas and the way he expresses himself in words.
I really loved this collection of poems and all the work put behind it. The introduction seems fundamental to me and I feel it contributes a lot to the edition of the book because it accompanies the selection of Rilke's poems that compose this edition, and helps the reader better understand the context of production of all these poems, something that I feel is very important, because the Rilke of the Letters to a Young Poet is not the same as the Rilke after the Poems to Orpheus.
At the same time, I was very pleased that the book included a detailed biography of Rilke's life and the order of production of his works. This helps us, again, to understand the context of production of the poems and thus read into them in different ways.
This is a book that I would recommend to anyone who wants to read Rilke. I do not feel that it is the best book to start reading the poet, but I do not feel that it is necessary to have already read a lot about the author before entering this collection of poems. I, precisely, am just beginning to read Rilke and I still had an incredible experience reading this book, because reading the different poems I noticed how the tone of the writing and the style varied a little according to the year of production of each poem and that made even more excited to keep reading more Rilke's work. But because of the fact that within this collection of poems there are poems by Rilke in his twenties to Rilke in 1922, I think this is also an excellent book to reread the author. To return to him after having already read his most important works, and rediscover his words and his verses and rediscover him in your rereads. Because Rilke is definitely, for me, one of those authors that you never quite finish reading.
Anyway, a great book, with a beautiful edition, which I highly recommend.

The premise of these poems really had me intrigued but unfortunately the format really let the book down. I dont know if it was the way mine downloaded or if it was intentional but the breaks between the poems were non existent so it Read like one massive text which didn't really work.

I think its great these poems were translated but I think the beauty is in the original language and it didn't quite work for me sadly.

This is a difficult book for me to rate as essentially I found the poems hard to read and understand, so I have to rate it on its importance as a collection rather than a judgement on the poems themselves. I’m sure there will be many Rilke enthusiasts who will be enchanted with the volume but it simply wasn’t one for me. The introduction was useful and for me pretty much essential. The collection comprises a new English translation of Rilke’s 1916 collection “Poems to Night” plus some draft poems and other ones on the themes of night, and will no doubt be appreciated by all Rilke readers and scholars.

This is written from Rilke’s soul and this book is full of deeply emotionally grabbing and beautiful poems. This is the first thing I've ever read from Rilke and I will defiently be picking up other work from him! I defiently also want to reread this book because I find with older poems you need a physical copy so you can get out your highlighter and really analyse the poems! - especially with it having been translated, it's always hard to completed translate poetry from one language to anther but this was done so well! Also I read this on my kindle and a lot of the poems merged a lot so it was quite difficult to tell where a poem ended and a new one began!

But overall an amazing selection of poems!

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this poetry collection. This is my honest review.

The only work of Rainer Maria Rilke that I’ve previously read was ‘Letters to a Young Poet’ which I loved and found to be full of wonderful quotable lines and phrases. This in many ways is similar. The poems seem to float in and out likes waves on sand and there is either the option to read them and let the words float over you or dig a bit down at the layers within- both of which I’ve done and found equally rewarding. The translation here is very good and the introduction (which I read at the end to avoid spoilers) is far from dry and really adds to the background, as does the biographical section at the end. A fascinating poet.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the copy of this book.

This collection is a vessel for Rilke’s soul, it offers the readers with Rilke’s long lost soul. I see poetry as a medium to transplant the poet’s soul to whoever receives it and in this case it was me. His mesmerising poetic writing showcases his passion for new discoveries with the help of visual imagery and full of contradicting images.

“How did I hold out this face, that its feeling
rough spaces of strangeness worked through;”
(Paris, turn of the year 1913-1914) Translated by Will Stone

The poems are as complex as they are short and simply crafted from Rilke’s mind. They are not overburdened with rhymes or repetition. All exist with the help of their creator. As Rilke is a brilliant poet, the translator and editor Will Stone does his best to stay true to the original poems. Certainly, I do not speak German but you can sense the flawless complexity of the poems. What I usually look at translated work is if it flows easily and understandable to some content. Because we can all guess how hard it is to translate works from completely different cultures and times.

This was my second time reading Rilke's poetry and I will without a doubt reread this collection. There is a sorrowful soul behind these enigmatic poems and that name is Rilke. You can just sense his presence in all of the unseen poems and as a night lover. Rilke’s poetry can be extremely enigmatic at times, which is what makes his writing so excellent. Every human mind works in mysterious ways so does Rilke as a poet. He transcend the limits of writing poems about night.

Poems to Night is a poetry collection of twenty-two poems by the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke.

To be honest, I don’t think this was the best to start with Rilke’s work, but since it was sent to by Pushkin Press in exchange for a review, I went with the flow.


I truly loved most the poems however, there were a few which I found difficult to connect with a bit. All things considered, I can’t know if this is because of Rilke’s writing or due to the translation, we all know poetry is something hard to get right when translating.

Rilke does not bother us with useless long verses which the only use is to fill pages, or with unnecessarily complicated rhymes. He gives the reader an insight into the connection one has with the world around themself and one’s mind. As you can see in the following verse:

“Is pain – as soon as the ploughshare,
labouring, naturally reaches a new layer –
is pain not good? And what can it mean, the last
interrupting us in the depths of such affliction?”

I think that given the year we have had; there are certain feelings brought out in these poems that we can relate to today, those of isolation and loneliness, which we can track to the author’s time during WW2. These are the things many of us have to deal with at night before we drift off to sleep.

All in all, this is a beautifully written book collection with a good translation, as fas as my translation knowledge goes. I recommend it to anyone who likes poetry as well as to anyone in search of a book to get in tune with their feelings and emotions.

I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

Bye, keep on reading.