"This thick volume's appeal will be limited to two small but intellectually impassioned audiences: scholars of the interrelations of philosophy and poetry in general and those specifically interested in Rilke as a philosophical poet in the tradition of Hölderlin . Fischer's command of the vast secondary literature of his chosen fields is remarkable. The author does a good job reminding readers of what has been covered as the text moves along . A remarkable effort of great erudition and insight, this book will find a place in the field of phenomenology of literary aesthetics as well as Rilke studies. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students and researchers." --M. McCulloh, Davidson College, CHOICE "While the New Poems have already been the subject of much critical inquiry and commentary, Fischer makes the case for reading them freshly.

This is a cogent and enlightening volume that brings a new, systematic and thoughtful set of perspectives to the understanding of Rilke's New Poems ." -Paul Hetherington, University of Canberra, Cordite Poetry Review "The analysis of Rilke's practice and texts in Fischer's book can also be read as an example - of what can be done at the crossroads of literary criticism and philosophy, and also, possibly, of a practice of seeing / writing that the phenomenologist can adopt." ­- Phenomenological Reviews "Luke Fischer focuses on Rilke's 'diligence and devotion' to seeing phenomena as suffused with meaning and to embodying this seeing in enabling words. He traces the development of Rilke's poetic practice to his encounters with Cézanne, Rodin, and Jakob von Uexküll's Umwelt theory, and in close readings he elucidates the disclosive powers of some of the major poems in Rilke's Neue Gedichte . The result is a compelling demonstration of the ability of Rilke's poetic art to capture meanings in the world in a way that recovers an understanding of distinctively human attentive being within nature. This is vital work for anyone concerned with poetry and the fate of the human." -- Richard Eldridge, Charles and Harriett Cox McDowell Professor of Philosophy, Swarthmore College, USA "Like Hölderlin, Rainer Maria Rilke has long been viewed as a 'philosophical poet' and has, therefore, held a special fascination for philosophers. Luke Fischer's book is situated in this context.

It examines Rilke's relation to phenomenology, and is chiefly concerned with Rilke's significance for an overcoming of dualism, especially in the period of the New Poems . With this book Fischer has made a substantial contribution both to Rilke scholarship and to phenomenological research." -- Christoph Jamme, Professor of Philosophy, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany.