The first-ever English translation of Rilkes landmark poetry cycle, by Vita and Edward Sackville-West reissued for the first time in 90 years

In 1931, Virginia and Leonard Woolfs Hogarth Press published a small run of a beautiful edition of Rainer Maria Rilkes Duino Elegies, in English translation by the writers Vita and Edward Sackville-West. This marked the English debut of Rilkes masterpiece, which would eventually be rendered in English over 20 times, influencing countless poets, musicians and artists across the English-speaking world.

Published for the first time in 90 years, the Sackville-Wests translation is both a fascinating historical document and a magnificent blank-verse rendering of Rilkes poetry cycle. Featuring a new introduction from critic Lesley Chamberlain, this reissue casts one of European literatures great masterpieces in fresh light.