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 über-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-Salomé, a writer and intellectual fourteen years his senior, pen a relationship that moves from that of lovers to that of mentor and protégé, to that of deepest personal and literary allies. From the time of their first...
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The complete extant correspondence between a key fin-de-siècle intellectual and one of the most revered poets of the twentieth century.The New YorkerWhen Rilke first met Salomé, in 1897, he was twenty-one, an aspiring poet, and she was a married woman of thirty-six who had published a multitude of books and essays on philosophical and literary subjects.Their correspondence was initially one-sided—Rilke, besotted, sent a torrent of mail, while Salomé wished she could make him “go completely away”—but the two developed a passionate partnership as friends, lovers, confidants, and counsellors. This collection of some two hundred letters, written over nearly three decades, enriches our picture of Rilke and Salomé with curious details: Rilke makes arrangements for Salomé’s beloved dog, in advance of a visit; Salomé, practicing in mid-life as a psychoanalyst, claims success treating patients with Rilke’s poems: “They heard your tone as that of Life.”
\ The New YorkerWhen Rilke first met Salomé, in 1897, he was twenty-one, an aspiring poet, and she was a married woman of thirty-six who had published a multitude of books and essays on philosophical and literary subjects.Their correspondence was initially one-sided—Rilke, besotted, sent a torrent of mail, while Salomé wished she could make him “go completely away”—but the two developed a passionate partnership as friends, lovers, confidants, and counsellors. This collection of some two hundred letters, written over nearly three decades, enriches our picture of Rilke and Salomé with curious details: Rilke makes arrangements for Salomé’s beloved dog, in advance of a visit; Salomé, practicing in mid-life as a psychoanalyst, claims success treating patients with Rilke’s poems: “They heard your tone as that of Life.”\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalThis book collects the complete surviving correspondence of Rilke and Salome and is translated by Snow, who has worked on many of Rilke's writings, and Winkler, Snow's fellow professor at Rice University. Rilke is a familiar figure, but his correspondent, Salome, may be less well known to contemporary readers. However, when they first met, Rilke was unknown, and Salome was a widely published author, with far-reaching personal connections (she was involved with Nietzsche and studied psychoanalysis with Sigmund Freud). The two started as lovers and after a period of separation became friends and constant correspondents. As this collection reveals, Rilke's letters are long and full of rich language, although he is continually suffering from poverty, ill health, and, moreover, great uncertainty as to what course he should pursue for growing as an artist. Salome's responses are generally shorter, practical, and intended to reassure the insecure poet. While neither correspondent dwells much on the details of everyday life, the letters reveal much about European intellectual life in the early 20th century. Highly recommended for all academic libraries.-Amy K. Weiss, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.\ \
