A new translation of Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet has been released in a world in which his voice and vision feel as resonant as ever before. In ten letters to a young person in 1903, Rilke touched on the enduring dramas of creating our lives — prophetic musings about solitude and relationship, humanity and the natural world, even gender and human wholeness. And what a joy it is to delve into Rilke’s voice, freshly rendered, with the translators. Krista, Anita and Joanna have communed with Rainer Maria Rilke across time and space and their conversation is infused with friendship as much as ideas.
Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.
Joanna Macy is a philosopher of ecology and Buddhist teacher, and the root teacher of The Work That Reconnects. She’s the author of many books. Our previous On Being episode with her is “A Wild Love for the World.” That’s also the title of a lovely book of homage to her published in 2020.
Anita Barrows has translated three books of Rilke’s writing with Joanna, in addition to Letters to a Young Poet: Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God; In Praise of Mortality; and A Year with Rilke. Anita is a psychologist and poet. She was a voice in the On Being episode, “The Soul in Depression.” Her most recent poetry collection is Testimony.
[Unedited] Ayana Elizabeth Johnson with Krista Tippett
Rachel Naomi Remen – How We Live With Loss
[Unedited] Rachel Naomi Remen with Krista Tippett
David Whyte — Seeking Language Large Enough
"Everything is Waiting for You" by David Whyte
"Working Together" by David Whyte
"Sweet Darkness" by David Whyte
[Unedited] David Whyte with Krista Tippett
BONUS: A Defining Moment from Krista — Celebrating Our First 20 Years
Kimberley Wilson — Whole Body Mental Health
[Unedited] Kimberley Wilson with Krista Tippett
Robin Wall Kimmerer — The Intelligence of Plants
[Unedited] Robin Wall Kimmerer with Krista Tippett
Sylvia Boorstein – What We Nurture
A Lovingkindness Meditation with Sylvia Boorstein
[Unedited] Sylvia Boorstein with Krista Tippett
Pádraig Ó Tuama — “This fantastic argument of being alive”
[Unedited] Pádraig Ó Tuama with Krista Tippett
Ai-jen Poo and Tarana Burke — The Future of Hope 5
Avivah Zornberg — Human Becoming, Between Biblical Lines
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