A Celebration of Hölderlin

Join “Live From City Lights” in celebration of the work of Friedrich Hölderlin. Hear translator Nick Hoff introduce his new collection of Hölderlin’s early poetry, Odes and Elegies , with readings by special guests Andrew Joron and Susanne Hoelscher.

Friedrich Hölderlin emerged in the early 20th century as one of the key figures of modern European literature. This comprehensive selection of over 80 of his odes, hexameters, and elegies is taken from the important early period of his mature work—a time in which we encounter the poet open to nature and love with a rare vulnerability. The translations in a new book of translations, Odes and Elegies includes poems never before available in English, rendering forcefully and directly the deep longing and heartbreak of Hölderlin’s poetic world; their open, pathos-filled rhythm and disarming clarity present Hölderlin’s powerful work as distinctive English poems.

Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843), whose work has influenced such figures as Rilke, Celan, Heidegger, Adorno, and Benjamin, is considered by many to be one of the most important German lyric poets.

Nick Hoff is a writer and translator who lives in San Francisco. His translations have been published in numerous journals.

Recording for this podcast was provided by Ian Hiebert of Dublit.com

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.