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

“Forget” / A Poem by Rainer Maria Rilke Recited in German with English translation. Credits: Speech: Marion Donehower Music composed by Claude Gagnon Music performed by Bruce Donehower English Translation copyright 2022 by Bruce Donehower A contribution to the...

Poem for a Dog

Photo by Bruce Donehower “Du, mein Freund, bist einsam... ” (“You, my friend, are lonely... ”) A Sonnet for a Dog In 1921 Rilke moved into the tower at Muzot. In the coming weeks of winter 1922, he completed the Duino Elegies and wrote the Sonnets to Orpheus: two...

“Hearing Rilke”

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...

The Rilke Project / “Dance the Orange”

"Tanzt die Orange" ["Dance the Orange"] Part 1, Sonnet 15.   Performance Video with Original Music and Translation     German Text “Wartet . . . , das schmeckt . . . Schon ists auf der Flucht. Wenig Musik nur, ein Stampfen, ein Summen—: Mädchen, ihr...

Rilke Part 1 Sonnet 21 “Fruhling ist weidergekommen”

“Wildly Dancing Children” by Emil Nolde Frühling ist wiedergekommen [Spring has returned] Part 1, Sonnet 21.     English Translation by Bruce Donehower. “Spring has returned. The earth is like a child who knows some poetry; quite a bit, actually. Lots . . ....

Rilke Part 1 Sonnet 20 “Dir aber Herr”

“Claude, two years old, and his hobby horse,” by Pablo Picasso Dir aber, Herr, o was weih ich dir, sag . . . [O what can I dedicate to you, o Lord? Speak . . . ] Part 1, Sonnet 20.   English Translation by Bruce Donehower. “O what can I dedicate to you, o Lord?...

Rilke Part 2 Sonnet 1 “Atmen”

“God creates man and gives him breath” by Marc Chagall Atmen, du unsichtbares Gedicht! [Breath, you invisible poem!] Part 2 Sonnet 1. English Translation by Bruce Donehower. “Breath, you invisible poem! Back and forth, back and forth, exchanging in and out world space...

Rilke Part 1 No.8 & Part 2 No. 29

“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 1, Sonnet 8. English...
Poem for a Dog

Poem for a Dog

Photo by Bruce Donehower “Du, mein Freund, bist einsam... ” (“You, my friend, are lonely... ”) A Sonnet for a Dog In...