Ahead of All Parting, The Selected Poetry and Prose of Rainer Maria Rilke. 
Translated by Stephen Mitchell. Modern Library, 1995.
This has to be the best translation of Rilke I’ve ever read. Mitchell’s work doesn’t leave a single flaw on Rilke’s perfection.
This book reads like a silent and deep meditation–somewhat desperate, yet beautifully deep and still. Thanks to Mitchell’s English translation, one has the opportunity to read and soak in Rilke’s words as the poet intended. I effortlessly forget that the works were not originally written in English, which is a marvelous attribute to Mitchell’s ability to not only translate text but also the poet’s intent, his vivid imagery, and his soulfulness.
writemyline 
In the wonderfully underrated movie The Love Letter- set in a book store- there’s a sly little scene in which Ellen de Generes reads Rilke in German without a clue what any of it means. She’s a sort of reverse polymath- at another point she explains, “I love opera! I listen to it all the time while I’m vacuuming.”
“You don’t speak Italian,” Kate Capshaw’s character responds.
“Opera’s in Italian? Who knew?”
Happy holidays from the Edge of the Earth-