Mood writes as an ardent admirer of Rilke's work, with the motivation of filling out the available English translations of Rilke's work. He has so enjoyed his own study of the man's writing, he wants to complete the picture other admirers and newcomers to his work could have of his collective contribution to poetry and literature, feeling that other translators have fallen a little short. He includes both prose and poetry, and includes explanations before every chapter both to explain why he has made the selections he has, and to put his selections in historical and literary context. The prose he choses is from Rilke's essays and letters, and all offer insight into his perspectives and philosophies that aid the reader in understanding the symbolism and motivation behind his poetry.
Perhaps the most helpful part of Mood's perspective is his admiration of Rilke's having been so far ahead of his time in the sense of his strong feminist perspective, as well as his literary sophistication and sensitivity, particularly in the case of his introduction to the Phallic Poems. For those poems to have been introduced without any context, they might have been startling, or not taken seriously. With his introduction and his having placed them after his letters on love, so the reader has a sense of his voice upon approaching them, they are much more palatable.
Rilke on Love and Other Difficulties, Translations and Considerations of Rainer Maria Rilke
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