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Rilke's Book of Hours - Robert Saxton

Fri, 17 Nov

|

London

Join Robert Saxton for a presentation of his new interpretation of Rainer Maria Rilke’s classic work of profound spiritual poetry "The Book of Hours".

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Rilke's Book of Hours - Robert Saxton
Rilke's Book of Hours - Robert Saxton

Time & Location

17 Nov 2023, 17:30

London, 19-21 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4EZ, UK

About the event

I’m living at the far edge of the century.     A tremendous leaf is about to turn,     which God, you and I have scribbled on.     I feel the wind that stirs it, teasingly.

I love the inviting blank of the empty page –     unspoiled, a place to record marvellous things.     Silently the Fates, after taking soundings,     look at each other; then dip their pens in rage.

Rilke’s earliest masterpiece is compelling, outspoken, impassioned, strange and wholly alive. It catches the reader off-guard with surprises and frissons of all kinds. Varied and restless, it presents a kaleidoscopic picture of the poet’s complex and shifting relationship with God, which at times feels like a love affair. Key themes include doubt, desire, art, nature, time, nothingness, pilgrimage, the city, poverty and death. All this is set within a vibrant world, peopled by memorable characters, including a young monk resisting the temptations of the flesh, Michelangelo, Botticelli, the Virgin Mary, St Francis, farmers, monks and a sinister nightwatchman.

Saxton’s version of Rilke’s The Book of Hours offers a well-judged balance of imaginative interpretation and conscientious fidelity.

Please note that the original date for this event has now been moved forward to 17th November!

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