Synopsis
Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) is widely regarded as the greatest lyric poet of this century. His major achievements--the New poems, the Sonnets to Orpheus, and the incomparable Duino Elegies--had a powerful impact on European literature and have been the subject of intense scrutiny and increasing acclaim since the poet's death. Only in recent years, however, with the emergence of key documentary material, has it become possible to present the full story of Rilke's life. In A Ringing Glass, Donald Prater's aim is not to add another stone to the mounting edifice of critical interpretation, but to provide a portrait of the man hmself, and to show the background in which Rilke's extraordinary vision developed.
And it is an extraordinary background. Rilke's nomadic existence led him from his birthplace in Prague through Germany, Russian, Spain, Italy, France, and finally Switzerland, He visited Tolstoy at Yasnaya Polyana, acted for a time as secretary to Rodin, and was friend of Ramain Rolland, Leonid Pasternak, and Walter Rathenau. He was the protege of Princess Marie von Thurn und Taxis and the lover Lou Andreas-Salome and Baladine Klossawska (of whose son, the painter Balthus, he was an early patron). Financially and emotionally, Rilke needed these associations; yet he dedicated himself fully to his art and remained single-minded in his search for the solitude it required. In his correspondence, from which Prater draws extensively, Rilke reveals the tragic conflict between his needs as a man and his goals as a poet. "This above all," he wrote a younger colleague, "ask yourself...must I write? Delve into yourself for a deep answer. And if this should be affirmative...then build your life according to this necessity."
With this comprehensive biography, readers can themselves delve deeply into the life Rilke built, a life as courageous and rare as the poetry it left behind.
About the Author:
Donald Prater is the author of European of Yesterday, a biography of Stefan Zweig, and his edition of the Rilke-Zweig correspondence will appear shortly in Germany.
Aa major new biography of the century's greatest lyric poet
BLDraws extensively on Rilke's letters to present an intimate portrait
Reviews
Rilke wanted to live for his writing alone; he felt that the means to create ita decent income, pleasant surroundingsshould be given to him. Lucky breaks and sporadic patronage enabled him to survive on his own terms, renounce his wife and chlid and do nothing but write. Prater maintains that Rilke's poetry is essentially narcissistic and personal despite its cosmic allusionsa welcome corrective view that will be shared by many. According to Prater, Rilke hid behind an ideal self; the women who loved and mothered him, the friends so eager to help him, were far from knowing the real man. This lively yet somehow impersonal biography contains no literary criticism. Instead, it focuses on Rilke's constant existential crises, his relationship with the women whom he tended to idealize, his wanderings through Europe and search for fame, all of which are refracted through previously unpublished letters as well as testimonials. As the somber story of a poet who ultimately found no relationship with the outside world, this demythologizing biography is revealing, but one puts it down feeling that a large part of the picture is missing.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) ranks among the greatest lyric poets of our century. Prater's study is a major contribution to our understanding of the man who stands behind such extraordinary poetic achievements as the New Poems , Sonnets to Orpheus , and Duino Elegies. Quoting extensively from letters and memoirs published in recent years, Prater unfolds before us the portrait of a man whose daily struggles revolved singularly around the creation of his art. This well-documented, eloquently written, and beautifully presented biography should be of great interest to lay reader and specialist alike. Essential for college and public libraries. Ulrike S. Rettig, German Dept., Harvard Univ.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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