Rainer Maria Rilke: Exquisite Beauty from the Pen of a Mere Mortal

Nearly everyone who reads and appreciates poetry is familiar with Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926). Some of the most beautiful lines in the English language were written by him. (Just kidding. He wrote in German and French.) Fortunately, the beauty of his ideas has not been lost in translation.

Just as I discovered the Wiki Quotes page on Picasso this past week, so have I been exploring others, with Rilke one of the first I looked up.

It is my pleasure here to share a few poems and lines from Rainer Maria Rilke.

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A Walk 
My eyes already touch the sunny hill,
going far ahead of the road I have begun.
So we are grasped by what we cannot grasp;
it has its inner light, even from a distance—
and changes us, even if we do not reach it,
into something else, which, hardly sensing it, we already are;
a gesture waves us on, answering our own wave . . .
but what we feel is the wind in our faces.

* * * *

"Make your ego porous. Will is of little importance, complaining is nothing, fame is nothing. Openness, patience, receptivity, solitude is everything." 

* * * *
Autumn Day
Lord: it is time. The summer was immense.
Let thine shadows upon the sundials fall,
and unleash the winds upon the open fields.

* * * *

As I read a passage like this next one I am conscious that it is written by someone whose life and being has been so utterly foreign to the fast-paced mad rush rat race so many Americans have accepted as a normal life. Success is achieved by hustling. But what happens to the soul?

from The Book of Hours
I am too alone in the world, and yet not alone enough
to make every hour holy.
I am too small in the world, and yet not tiny enough
just to stand before you like a thing,
dark and shrewd.
I want my will, and I want to be with my will
as it moves towards deed;
and in those quiet, somehow hesitating times,
when something is approaching,
I want to be with those who are wise
or else alone.

*
This next one I have taped on the wall of my office perhaps 20 years ago and it still inspires me, speaks to me in a way that is deeper than words. 

I Live My Life In Growing Orbits
I live my life in growing orbits
which move out over the things of the world.
Perhaps I can never achieve the last,
but that will be my attempt.

I am circling around God,
around the ancient tower,
and I have been circling for a thousand years,
and I still don’t know
if I am a falcon, or a storm,
or a great song.

* * * *

The following is a section from a small volume called Letters to a Young Poet, which I downloaded to my Kindle several years ago. It stands in stark contrast to the loud, busy world we live in today where the radio or television are always on and the myriad ways we bury ourselves in diversions to escape from ourselves.

from Letter Seven
It must be immense, this silence, in which sounds and movements have room. And if one thinks that along with all this the presence of the distant sea also resounds, perhaps as the innermost note in this prehistoric harmony, then one can only wish that you are trustingly and patiently letting the magnificent solitude work upon you, this solitude which can no longer be erased from your life; which, in everything that is in store for you to experience and to do, will act as an anonymous influence, continuously and gently decisive, rather as the blood of our ancestors incessantly moves in us and combines with our own to form the unique, unrepeatable being that we are at every turning of our life.

* * * *

Just as photographers are skilled at capturing the natural world, likewise great poets and writers have fine tuned their lenses to capture our inner landscapes.

Related Link
The Panther
Rilke Wikiquote Page

Twin Ports Arts Scene: April Watchlist

Poetry and art on my brain this morning. Am reading a book about Rainer Maria Rilke in which I learned where his middle name came from. Maria sounds like a woman's name... because it is. The year before he was born his mother gave birth to a girl who died very early so that when Rainer was born she named him Rene Maria. She wanted a girl quite badly, and for his first years she grew his hair long and braided it, dressed him in dresses. Because he had been a premie (two months early) he was somewhat small and frail already and this plus the girl's name made him an easy target for bullies when he finally began attending school.

Alas. Bullying is nothing new. Rilke survived and his poetry is his legacy. When Herman Hesse won the Nobel Prize for literature, he was recognized not only as an artist but a poet, "the foremost German poet" since Rilke and George. Hesse and Rilke have been two of my lifetime companions, along with the poetry of our own Northland Nobel Prize winner.*

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And now, some Twin Ports arts happenings for April. 

Hot Shop Grand Opening at Lake Superior Art Glass' Second Location
Saturday, April 1, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1325 London Road. They are planning to give away $1,000-worth of raffle prizes. It's in the former Perkins building next to the Armory. Live demos in the morning, free afternoon classes for the first 10 people who sign up. Glass blowing is mind-blowing and beautiful to watch. Stop by and check it out!

Thursday, April 6, 6-10 p.m., Erik Dubnicka Art Opening, Beaner's Central Concert Coffeehouse , 324 N. Central Avenue. Eric Dubnicka is a visual artist specializing in painting, drawing, photography, and sculpture. Five  years ago one of his pieces was selected as Best in Show at the Duluth Art Institute.

Thursday, April 6, 6 – 7:30 p.m., Great Room of the DAI Lincoln Center for Arts Education. POLLINATORS & POP-UP PICNIC: Anna Metcalfe + Dan Shutte (Details Below)

Saturday, April 8, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Nice Girls of the North 2nd Saturday Marketplace. "Free coffee, cookies, and a friendly atmosphere await while you browse a collection of handcrafted clothing and bags, pottery, jewelry, stained glass, photography, personal care products, baby items and much more. One central checkout, most major credit cards accepted."

Sunday, April 9, 1:30-4 p.m., Rags to Riches Ragtime Concert, First Covenant Church, 2101 W. 2nd Street,  hosted by the Lake Superior Ragtime Society. This Free concert is a special tribute to ragtime music composer Scott Joplin. Afterglow to follow at Sir Benedict's Tavern. For more information call 218-724-7696.

Saturday, April 22, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Douglas County WI HCE Craft Day, Mission Covenant Church, 5161 S. County Road P. I will be teaching Zentangle® Pattern Drawing during the morning session of this fair. Registration: $5 (includes lunch); Class Cost: $10 (supplies included).

Saturday, April 22, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Art for Earth Day 27th Annual Gallery Hop,
Tour local galleries, visit with artists and watch demonstrations at this fun event in honor of the 47th Anniversary of Earth Day. Look for a listing of participating locations, times and descriptions of classes, demos, and receptions. You can pick up a brochure with a map at any of the locations listed in the attached documents. For more information, call (218) 722-1451.

SPECIAL THANKS SHOUT OUT to Esther Piszczek for helping assemble much of the information that gets shared here.

Book & Film! Patterned Peace, by Esther Piszczek, CZT, published by Whole Person Associates, Duluth. Available on Amazon.com and The Bookstore at Fitgers. Original, hand-drawn artwork ready to color. Includes full pattern index.

Life & Art Entangled, a 17 minute art documentary created by Lola Visuals featuring Zentangle (R) inspired artwork on a piano created by fine-line pattern artist Esther Piszczek, CZT, and the improvisational jazz piano music of Peter Brown. Watch on YouTube.com.

Places to find Esther's art in the Twin Ports:
Art on the Planet, 1413 Tower Avenue, Superior
Duluth Fine Pianos, 405 E. Superior Street, Duluth
Master Framing Gallery, 1431 London Road, Duluth

Places to see some of my paintings:
Art on the Planet and Goin' Postal in Superior, and The Break Room, kitty-corner from Essentia/St Mary's on Positively Fourth Street and Fifth Avenue East in Duluth.

* * * *

POLLINATORS & POP-UP PICNIC: Anna Metcalfe + Dan Shutte
Minneapolis-based artist Anna Metcalfe will discuss the research and process behind her ceramic series exploring pollinators and their connections to our food. Metcalfe graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2009 with an MFA and currently works for Springboard for the Arts in St. Paul, MN. Interested in the junction of public art and craft, she makes work inspired by water, agriculture, food and community. As a teaching artist, Metcalfe loves to promote collaboration and interdisciplinary learning environments between the sciences and art-making. She is a recipient of a Jerome Foundation Emerging Artist’s Project Grant for Public Art in 2009, a MN State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant in 2013 and 2015, a Jerome Foundation Study and Travel Grant in 2013 and most recently an environmental artist fellowship at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France. Metcalfe is interested in art as a vehicle for social change and her work strives to reframe our relationship to land and agriculture, and to create meaningful ways to connect with natural resources.

She will be joined by Dan Shutte, the District Manager for the Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District (Lake SWCD) and the owner of Shoreview Natives, a Two Harbors-based business that specializes in growing and installing native plants including wildflowers, grasses, sedges, shrubs, and trees. Their services support efforts to help declining populations of monarch butterflies, native bees, honeybees, and other pollinator species exhibiting major population crashes, and he is currently serving on the Governor’s Committee for Pollinator Protection. He will discuss local pollinators and how they impact our region, and will recommend simple ways that everyone can contribute toward healthy environments for pollinators. A pop-up picnic will be included in this session to demonstrate the connections between pollinators and our food system.

* * * *
Stay current with Duluth Art Institute activities here. Their Saturday a.m. Zeitgeist film series will continue through the month. (10 a.m. Saturday mornings.) Gezielt (Carla Hamilton) and Rooted Expression (Elizabeth Kuth) and still on display through April 9. Lest We Forget is coming soon, including a special event on April 24, Holocaust Remembrance Day.

And don't miss the Pop Evolution exhibit at the Tweed, if you have not already seen it. Really interesting.

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Meantime, Art Goes On All Around You. Engage it!

*Duluth Dylan Fest is just around the corner, kicking off with a concert at Karpeles on Saturday May 20. We've sent out a Call To Artists for Dylan-Themed or Dylan-Inspired art. There will also be a poetry event. Check out the full week's schedule here at the Bob Dylan Way website.

**Looking or something new or different to read. This author's not too bad. :-) Eds-Books.com