Living the Questions

I’ve been dipping in and out of You Are the Future: Living the Questions with Rainer Maria Rilke (Monkfish, 2024).Written by translator and scholar Mark S. Burrows and best-selling author Stephanie Dowrick, it reaches into the heart of Rilke’s poetry, stressing the value of living “the deep questions of our day.” The Austrian poet’s work was inspired by his mystical leanings and a need to come to terms with the suffering wreaked by WWI. “I am the stillness between two notes/that don’t easily harmonize,” Rilke wrote, and as Burrows observes, he “sensed that polarities are always with us, and within us — light and dark; good and bad; right and wrong — and that our work was that of integrating them.”

The poet’s yearning for wholeness is common to many people and it’s not likely to be fulfilled by outer means such as self-help fixes. It is, instead, “a call to open ourselves to what is real,” “to enter deeply into the soulful depths of your own life,” Burrows says. This isn’t so much about transcendence as it is a process of transformation, says Dowrick, a former psychotherapist, who cites this passage from Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet: “Don’t search now for the answers; they can’t be given to you because you couldn’t yet live them. And what matters is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps on some future day you’ll find yourself, slowly and imperceptibly, living into the answer…” Rich with insight and references, this is a book to savor. Not only is it a good resource for understanding Rilke’s writing and the context of his life, it also shows how poetry, in general, can nurture “soul work.”

April is National Poetry Month

Launched in 1996 by The Academy of American Poets, National Poetry Month celebrates poetry with a series of special in-person and virtual events. This year, “Mindful Poetry Moments” offers “a chance to pause and reflect on poetry’s ability to encounter ourselves, the world, and the mystery of each other,” according to the AAP website. On Wednesday, April 9^th, from 3-4pm EST, participants will gather virtually to write and share their experiences based on Mary Oliver’s “Wild Geese.” For a full description with a link to register for this free event, and for a complete schedule, visit www.poets.org.

Power Lines

The Poetry Foundation honors the 25^th anniversary of the Midwest anthology Power Lines this month with a series of readings, exhibitions, and performances. Dubbed “POWER LINES: Lineage as a Source of Collective Power,” the series focuses on “an energetic current connecting us to the past, fueling us toward the futures of our imaginations.” For a complete schedule visit www.poetryfoundation.org.

Contemplating Kinship

“Contemplating Kinship,” a free multi-media event sponsored by The Poet’s Corner of Maine, will take place on Zoom April 13^th at 4:00 pm, EST. Exploring our connections with each other, nature, and the world, the event will feature writers Claire Milliken, Jane Pirone, Mikhu Paul, and David Baker. To register and to learn about other programs and opportunities sponsored by The Poet’s Corner, visit www.thepoetscornermaine.org.