Autumn Sonata

Autumn Sonata by Trakl, Georg. paperback edition. ISBN: 9781559212519.

Georg Trakls poems are considered some of the most difficult for any translator to tackle; his German is dense and sometimes almost impenetrable. Daniel Simkos collection Autumn Sonata, has been lauded for the simplicity and directness of its translations, accomplished with out sacrificing the drama of Trakls rich imagery.Suffering from manic depressive episodes and haunted by his experiences tending the wounded and dying during World War One, Trakls poems reflect a sense of lostness: nightmare visions and disembodied voices provide an often eccentric perspective of reality. Though he yearns for deliverance, there poems do not anticipate it. Instead, they map the interior landscape of a brilliant, though troubled, spirit.