Rainer Maria Rilke’s poetry and letters have inspired countless readers around the world with their wisdom and insight into how we can be more than ourselves without recourse to religion, politics, or ideology: through the experiences of art and love. Gathered here for the first time in original translations are Rilke’s candid, piercing, and lyrical reflections on love—the experience he considered paramount for human existence but also, with the exception of death, the event for which we are least prepared. Selected from Rilke’s poetry and his vast correspondence, these passages present Rilke’s contemplations on falling in love, being in love, losing love, and the mystical ways in which love endures.
Table of Content
Contents
RILKE ON LOVE
When love begins 1
When love grows 33
When love ends 61
When love endures 91
About This Book 118
Rainer Maria Rilke 120
About the author
Ulrich Baer holds a BA from Harvard and a Ph D from Yale. He is University Professor at New York University, where he teaches literature and photography. He has been awarded Guggenheim, Getty, and Alexander von Humboldt fellowships. A widely recognized expert on poetry and translator, among his books are Rainer Maria Rilke’s The Dark Interval, Letters on Life, and Letters to a Young Poet. Other books include Spectral Evidence: The Photography of Trauma, What Snowflakes Get Right: Free Speech, Truth, and Equality on Campus, and other books in the Contemplations series: Nietzsche on Love and Dickinson on Love.
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