SASE'S Carol Connolly Reading Series: Rainer Maria Rilke

Like opera, poetry doesn’t always translate well from its native tongue. Poems from the great mystic Rainer Maria Rilke, for example, lose nuance and, more notably, lyricism in the journey from Rilke’s native German to English (he also wrote a sizeable but less celebrated oeuvre in French). Rilke’s rhythmic dynamism is best enjoyed when expressed, lecture hall-style, in its original language, while we non-German speakers follow along with the help of handouts. So here’s a rare opportunity, in honor of National Poetry Month, to hear Rilke poems in their original German. Gerhard Weiss (pictured), a professor of German at the University of Minnesota, does the honors. Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts; 6666 East River Rd., Fridley; 763-574-1850; www.saseonline.org