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Literature Breakfast Rainer Maria Rilke
Deutsche Zentrale für Tourismus e.V.
Bahnhofstraße 13, 74072 Heilbronn-Innenstadt
Rainer Maria Rilke: A Universe of His Own
His work is characterized by a neo-romantic style and oscillates between longing and melancholy. Through his virtuosic language and diversity, the poet continues to resonate with us today. Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 Prague – 1926 Valmont near Montreux) was a highly sensitive individual who often retreated into his own world, a tendency that can be attributed to his strict upbringing, including time spent at a military academy. His extensive lyrical work is particularly indicative of an immense productivity. Famous "thing poems" such as "The Carousel" ("And now and then a white elephant") or "The Panther" are regarded as symbols of life and impress through a perfect interplay of content and form. Rilke lived as a free writer and traveled to Italy, France, and Sweden, and with Lou Andreas-Salomé, to Russia, where he met Tolstoy. In the artists' colony of Worpswede, he met his future wife, the sculptor Clara Westhoff, as well as the artist Paula Modersohn-Becker. His work is marked by a neo-romantic style and swings between longing and melancholy. Through his virtuosic language and diversity, the poet continues to speak to us today. He was also interested in art (he was Rodin's secretary) and worked as a translator. In the years 2025/26, Rilke will celebrate a double anniversary: the 150th birthday on December 4, 2025, and the 100th anniversary of his death on December 29, 2026, which will be commemorated in a special exhibition at the German Literature Archive in Marbach.
Heinrich-Fries-Haus, Bahnhofstr. 13, Heilbronn
Karin Schmöger, M.A., Art and Literary Historian
Course No.: 25215
His work is characterized by a neo-romantic style and oscillates between longing and melancholy. Through his virtuosic language and diversity, the poet continues to resonate with us today. Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 Prague – 1926 Valmont near Montreux) was a highly sensitive individual who often retreated into his own world, a tendency that can be attributed to his strict upbringing, including time spent at a military academy. His extensive lyrical work is particularly indicative of an immense productivity. Famous "thing poems" such as "The Carousel" ("And now and then a white elephant") or "The Panther" are regarded as symbols of life and impress through a perfect interplay of content and form. Rilke lived as a free writer and traveled to Italy, France, and Sweden, and with Lou Andreas-Salomé, to Russia, where he met Tolstoy. In the artists' colony of Worpswede, he met his future wife, the sculptor Clara Westhoff, as well as the artist Paula Modersohn-Becker. His work is marked by a neo-romantic style and swings between longing and melancholy. Through his virtuosic language and diversity, the poet continues to speak to us today. He was also interested in art (he was Rodin's secretary) and worked as a translator. In the years 2025/26, Rilke will celebrate a double anniversary: the 150th birthday on December 4, 2025, and the 100th anniversary of his death on December 29, 2026, which will be commemorated in a special exhibition at the German Literature Archive in Marbach.
Heinrich-Fries-Haus, Bahnhofstr. 13, Heilbronn
Karin Schmöger, M.A., Art and Literary Historian
Course No.: 25215
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