On the northern coast of the Adriatic, about twenty kilometers outside Trieste, lies the village of Duino. There, atop a steep cliff, stands one of the most beautiful castles in Europe, where in mid-January 1912, within a few days, Rainer Maria Rilke wrote the first and second of his ten Duino Elegies.
The work was completed ten years later in a tower (the Chateau de Muzot) in the Valais of Switzerland and published the following year. The influence of the Elegies on 20th-century poetry can only be compared to that of Eliot's The Waste Land. Nearly ninety years after their first publication, the Elegies continue to be translated continuously around the world - and in our country... (Anastasios Vistonitis, TO VIMA, 12/6/2011).
This work by Rilke has been repeatedly translated from German into our language. Additionally, over the last few decades, a significant number of Greek books have appeared that refer to Rilke and his work.
So, what is the reason for yet another translation of this poetic book being published today? There are two reasons: The first, and less significant, has to do with what happened in Greece regarding Rilke and especially his poetic work. The second reason, which is more significant, relates to the hidden core of these Elegies. To the richness they offer us, which is still of great value today.
