Stephen Mitchell

"Stephen Mitchell's gift is to breathe new life into ancient classics. In Joseph and the Way of Forgiveness, he offers us his riveting novelistic version of the Biblical tale in which Jacob's favorite son is sold into slavery and eventually becomes viceroy of Egypt. Tolstoy called it the most beautiful story in the world. What's new here is the lyrical, witty, vivid prose, informed by a wisdom that brings fresh insight to this foundational legend...

Though the emperor banishes the nightingale in preference of a jeweled mechanical imitation, the little bird remains faithful and returns years later when the emperor is near death and no one else can help him.

Out of nowhere, like a cool breeze in a marketplace crowded with advice, comes Byron Katie and “The Work.”

In the midst of a normal life, Katie became increasingly depressed, and over a ten-year period sank further into rage, despair, and thoughts of suicide. Then one morning, she woke up in a state of absolute joy, filled with the realization of how her own suffering had ended. The freedom of that realization has...

An ugly duckling spends an unhappy year ostracized by the other animals before he grows into a beautiful swan.

Originally published in 1855 as part of Leaves of Grass, Song of Myself was revised and expanded by Walt Whitman through several editions. Mitchell has gone back to the original text and compared it with later versions.

Presents an account of the life of Jesus, using what the author considers to be the most authentic sources.

With the help of Iron Hans, the wild man of the forest, a young prince makes his own way in the world and wins the hand of a princess.

The young Danish aristocrat Malte Laurids Brigge has been left rootless by the early death of his parents. Now living in Paris, Malte begins to record his life in a series of loosely connected notes, diary entries, prose poems, parables and stories, ostensibly collected by a fictional editor to form the Notebooks. Focusing on Malte's observations and experiences in the present, recollections of his childhood and family, and his reflections on historical...

Translated and adapted from the Hebrew Bible.

"Written during an outburst of creativity during a period of only two weeks in February 1922, Rilke's Sonnets to Orpheus is one of the great poetic works of the twentieth century. Willis Barnstone brings these poems into English; this dual-language edition allows the reader to compare versions face-to-face to get a clearer sense of the nuances of the translation. Also included is an extensive introduction from the translator that offers a biographical...