Five Town CSD Adult & Community Education

This four-week seminar introduces participants to Rilke's poems, beginning with the first book that brought him European recognition (The Book of Hours) and continuing through to his later works (The Duino Elegies & The Sonnets to Orpheus, both completed in 1922). We will read excerpts of his letters, a remarkable testimony of his deep creativity and questing mind, and sample parts of the one novel he published. Readings for each session will be circulated in advance; no prior knowledge of Rilke is expected, though some familiarity with poetry would be useful.