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Rainer Maria Rilke and Lou Andreas-Salome: The Correspondence
He would become one of the most important poets of the twentieth century; she was the uber-muse of Europe's turn-of-the-century thinkers and artists. In this never-before-translated collection of letters spanning almost thirty years, the poet Rainer Maria Rilke and Lou Andreas-Salome, a writer and intellectual fourteen years his senior, pen a relationship that moves from t...more
Hardcover, 424 pages
Published
June 26th 2006
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published December 1st 1989)
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An incredibly intense read...
I give the correspondence itself 5 Stars - but the introduction made me angry and makes me question the translation. I'd be very interested in reading another translation. Here's the thing: these letters were clearly translated by devotees of Rilke and of course, that is logical and sensible, who else would do it? However - their high opinion of Rilke serves to diminish Lou Andreas-Salome, who happened to be the reason I wanted to read this correspondence. This very curious introduction makes An...more
This book took me a shiny, beautiful eternity to read, because every ten lines or so I had to pause, inhale deeply, sigh and stare out of my window until I could regain composure. I mean: it was gorgeous.
The relationship between RMR and LAS is a complex but soothing one a lot of mediocre souls will spend their entire lives searching for. Messy and shifting mix of mentor, apprentice, lover, stranger, friend, pen-pal and colleague.
Read it and swoon as RMR and LAS both ma...more
The relationship between RMR and LAS is a complex but soothing one a lot of mediocre souls will spend their entire lives searching for. Messy and shifting mix of mentor, apprentice, lover, stranger, friend, pen-pal and colleague.
Read it and swoon as RMR and LAS both ma...more
Nicki
added it
There is a lovely collection of the letters between Rilke and Salomé, (Rainer Maria Rilke and Lou Andreas-Salomé: The Correspondence) that, unlike most collections of letters between friends is remarkable for its lack of the little mundane details of life. The weather is rarely mentioned, and only then to some purpose ( Today it is raining, writes Rilke in a farewell sentence, No doubt also on Kufstein and Pushkin. ). The reader who is curious about the progression of either writer s outer ...more
Terrah
is currently reading it
So far it is a beautiful read, as are all things revolving around Rilke. Of course I am obsessed with the poet and his relationship with Miss Andreas-Salome, so I'm sure that adds to the enjoyment of the reading.
Whenever I want to learn about a creative or inspirational figure, I feel that autobiographical revelations, especially those related unintentionally such as through personal correspondences, are the best way to try to understand that creative figure's mental state. Rilke and Andreas-Salome have a continually evolving relationship that signficantly impacts both of them in the development of their love lives, expectations of life and friends, and literary skills/style. They were extraordinary p...more
the intimacy between friends over time - in reading their letters, there is the evidence of the gap, or what can go unstated, or the loyal love, or the depth of compassion that they have for one another (although lou asks for much less than rilke). what haunts and goads rilke forward is most present in these letters, sent to lou out of something between a cry for comfort and a desire for a muse, but their relationship changes over time, becomes more even, as they balk at the war and both fall i...more
Pretty good. I mean, they are letters, so some of it gets a little boring at times. I haven't read EVERY letter. I don't read letters that way. I usually hop around a lot and read only the ones that seem interesting. Many are descriptions of travel and places. He did send drafts of poems to her as well, and those are interesting. It's definately an affectionate relationship, and the letters get more "romantic" as time passes. They really start to heat up after 1914. Everything before t...more
It has been so long since people wrote letters that it is a great wonder and novel to read letters that people have written to each other. A what people! Fame is not a yardstick of how interesting people are, but they often coincide and this is one of the best. Rillke seems like a student desperately trying to please his wonderful and beautiful teacher. It was a beautiful book about a beautiful life.
Mark Bennett
rated it
So entranced by Rilke's letters. Just began this collection, keeping it bedside. Intrigued by Andreas-Salome's influence on him.
My favorite love letter exchange of all times.
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Rainer Maria Rilke is considered one of the German language's greatest 20th century poets.
His haunting images tend to focus on the difficulty of communion with the ineffable in an age of disbelief, solitude, and profound anxiety — themes that tend to position him as a transitional figure between the traditional and the modernist poets.
He wrote in both verse and a highly ly...more
More about Rainer Maria Rilke...
His haunting images tend to focus on the difficulty of communion with the ineffable in an age of disbelief, solitude, and profound anxiety — themes that tend to position him as a transitional figure between the traditional and the modernist poets.
He wrote in both verse and a highly ly...more
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