ST. PETER’S CEMETERY
Translated from the German by William Virgil Davis
—from Rattle #77, Fall 2022
Tribute to Translation
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Georg Trakl (1887–1914) was an Austrian poet and the brother of the pianist Grete Trakl. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists. He is perhaps best known for his poem ‘Grodek,’ which he wrote shortly before he died. | William Virgil Davis: “I was drawn to Trakl very early on, in my teens, and have been translating him in my own slow way ever since. Years ago, quite by accident, I stumbled on his birthplace in Salzburg, not far from the cemetery which is the setting of this poem—a magical place, as are so many of his poems.”