Rilke Project

“Sonnets to Orpheus” by Rainer Maria Rilke

“We are the bees of the invisible. We frantically plunder the visible of its honey, to accumulate it in the great golden hive of the invisible.”  — Rilke

The local Section group in Fair Oaks has given much attention to the poetry of Rilke. But we do this as artists rather than as scholars, primarily.

“The Myth of Orpheus” by Marc Chagall

Memory, Transcendence, Clairvoyant Insight

"Fog on the Elbe" / photo by Bruce Donehower     “Forget” / A Moon Poem by Rainer Maria Rilke     Forget   Forget, forget . . . and let us now experience only this . . . how stars penetrate through clarified night sky; how moon shines serene...

“You, my friend, are lonely” / Sonnets to Orpheus

"Dale" Photo by Bruce Donehower   A Sonnet for a Dog “Du, mein Freund, bist einsam” “You, my friend, are lonely. Sonnets to Orpheus / Part 1, Sonnet 16 / by Rainer Maria Rilke In this performance video, Marion recites in German. My translation of the German...

“Hearing Rilke” / Essay

The Tower of Muzot, where Rilke completed the Duino Elegies and wrote the Sonnets to Orpheus in 1922 An Essay on the Poet Rainer Maria Rilke This essay appeared in the Easter 2021 issue of Zeitschrift Stil, a publication of the Sections for Beautiful Sciences...

“Dance the Orange” / Sonnets to Orpheus

  "Tanzt die Orange"  "Dance the Orange" Sonnets to Orpheus / Part 1, Sonnet 15 / by Rainer Maria Rilke Performance Video with Original Music and Translation Voice: Marion Donehower / Music: Bruce Donehower / Translation: Bruce Donehower     German Text...

“Spring has returned!” / Sonnets to Orpheus

“Wildly Dancing Children” by Emil Nolde   "Frühling ist wiedergekommen" "Spring has returned!" Sonnets to Orpheus / Part 1, Sonnet 21 / by Rainer Maria Rilke       English Translation by Bruce Donehower. “Spring has returned! The earth is like a...

“O! What can I dedicate to you, O Lord? Speak!” / Sonnets to Orpheus

“Claude, two years old, and his hobby horse,” by Pablo Picasso   "Dir aber, Herr, o was weih ich dir . . ."   O what can I dedicate to you, O Lord? Speak!" Sonnets to Orpheus by Rainer Maria Rilke / Part 1, Sonnet 20.   English Translation by Bruce...

“Breath! You invisible poem!” / Sonnets to Orpheus

"Breathe!" artwork by Marion Donehower   From Sonnets to Orpheus by Rainer Maria Rilke / Atmen, du unsichtbares Gedicht! / "Breath! You invisible poem!" Part 2 Sonnet 1     English Translation by Bruce Donehower. “Breath! You invisible poem! Back and...

“Only in the Realm of Praising” / Sonnets to Orpheus

“The Blue Nymph” by Marc Chagall     Two sonnets are featured in this performance video. (Part 1, No 8 and Part 2 No 29) The second sonnet is the final sonnet of the Orpheus cycle.     Nur im Raum der Rühmung  [Only in the realm of praising] Part...