‘White high priest of truth, Crystal voice, in which God’s icy breath lives, Raging sorcerer, Under whose flaming coat jangles the warrior’s blue armour’ – Georg Trakl’s poem ‘Karl Kraus.’

Yes, a troubled soul that was at its core a gentle one. His collected poems are called ‘Surrender to the Night,’ which Richard Millington describes as ‘The Gentle Apocalypse’ … I think Georg would like that. Will Stone introduces Trakl’s poetry with two words … ‘ Approaching Silence.’ His translations are sublime. In fact, they promise to rekindle interest in the work of this seminal poet.

The mesmerizing imagery and haunting visions of Trakl’s highly sensitive and morbidly introspective poetry are as powerful today as they were when he poured forth his extraordinary and unclassifiable volume of work. A source of inspiration for artists, musicians and writers through the Expressionist period and beyond, Trakl’s poetry bleak, yet full of tenderness and hope, nightmarish yet eerily beautiful has steadfastly defied any coherent critical analysis.