Georg Trakl’s poetry has been praised by many, including Rainer Maria Rilke and Ludwig Wittgenstein, who wrote that while he did not truly understand Trakl’s poems, they did have the tone of a ‘truly ingenious person’.Collected Poems gathers Trakl’s early, middle and late work, ranging widely — from his haunting prose pieces to his darkly beautiful poems documenting the first bloody weeks of the First World War on the Eastern Front. In a refreshing contrast to previous translations of Trakl, James Reidel is mindful of how the poet himself wished to be read, emphasising the order and content of the verses to achieve a musical effect. This volume is further enriched by Reidel’s research into the historicity of the poet’s language and his extensive annotation, making this the most comprehensive collection of Trakl’s poetry in English.
