Poems (German Edition) (Paperback)

by Hermann Hesse (Author), James Wright (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Rilke, T. S. Eliot, Gide, Thomas Mann rightly called Hesse a master…  His fiction achieves the glorious anachronism of art: created in the past, it speaks to us in the present.  It glorifies the strategies of attempting to become a full human being and it celebrates the nobility of failure.”--Webster Schott, Life
 
“Hesse is  a writer of suggestion, of nuance, of spiritual intimation.”--Christian Science Monitor
 
“One of the defining spirits of our century.”--Ralph Freedman, Princeton University

Product Description

Few American readers seem to be aware that Hermann Hesse, author of the epic novels Steppenwolf and Siddhartha, among many others, also wrote poetry, the best of which the poet James Wright has translated and included in this book. This is a special volume—filled with short, direct poems about love, death, loneliness, the seasons—that is imbued with some of the imagery and feeling of Hesse’s novels but that has a clarity and resonance all its own, a sense of longing for love and for home that is both deceptively simple and deeply moving.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Bilingual edition (March 18, 2008)
• Language: English, German
• ISBN-10: 0374526419
• ISBN-13: 978-0374526412
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #476,582 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poems of longing and seperation, August 27, 2003

By	matt (the reading room) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This is one of my favorite anthologies of poetry, worth reading repeatedly. It captures the spirit of a man, so much like us all, who longs for that something beyond the next hill or behind the wistful smile. How many of us sense intuitively that life is wrapped in a mystery, the veil of separation thin? Hesse's poetry, like his novels, reminds me that even though the inner meaning to life often seems just beyond my reach, it is none the less to be found in the quotidian activities of breathing the fresh air, cutting the finger on the edge of a dish, or listening to Bach as I clean the garage. Written almost 90 years ago, his poetry still rings true to the wandering steppenwolfe in each one of us. "The Gate of Heaven is everywhere."

You may also be captivated by another moving anthology of poetry, "Against Forgetting". It is an anthology of 20th century poems of witness, suffering, and hope.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Glimpse into Hesse's Poetic Mind, May 15, 2000

By	Patrick (Marlboro, VT) - See all my reviews

It is unfortunate, though Hesse always thought of himself first as a poet, readers who are not fluent in German rarely get to read any of his poetry. Highly lyrical and Romantic, Hesse's poems remind his readers that the world he was most comfortable in was the creation of the German poets in the century which preceded him. Highly reminiscent of Holderin with a bit of Goethe thrown in for style, all of the poems selected are eminently readable. James Wright has gone for a literal translation, and in many cases causes the poems to loose the musical charm his words have in German. For those who, like me, are critical of translations, the German text for each poem is also included. Anyone with an interest in Hesse or in the twentieth century canon should defintely read this book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short & Sweet, September 30, 2001

By	Space (Different Planet) - See all my reviews

It shows the excellent ability of Hesse in mastering both styles of writing. His style in writing poems is magnificant, and very clear. I am sure the translation is still weaker than the original german language, but nevertheless it is a highly recommended book to read.

If you are a Hesse fan, you will enjoy this even more.