tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post3364621669560556743..comments2023-12-30T17:31:11.883+00:00Comments on The Solitary Walker: Rilke At MuzotThe Solitary Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-80806305370576595492012-02-06T15:03:01.506+00:002012-02-06T15:03:01.506+00:00Thanks for this, Lorenzo!Thanks for this, Lorenzo!The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-90206033287486890802012-02-02T20:30:22.389+00:002012-02-02T20:30:22.389+00:00Dear Robert: Though my silence may lead you to thi...Dear Robert: Though my silence may lead you to think otherwise, I am still around and reading you here, and I just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed this series of posts on towers and soulful bastions of these great writers and thinkers.Lorenzo — Alchemist's Pillowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07522265816460154722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-65923142477599964172012-01-24T10:52:23.907+00:002012-01-24T10:52:23.907+00:00Oh magnificent! To know that you were there is jus...Oh magnificent! To know that you were <i>there</i> is just incredible. Thank you for this information, much of which I did not know. How thrilling.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-78301284468492024442012-01-18T04:21:59.970+00:002012-01-18T04:21:59.970+00:00Thanks for that, Goat. Yes, I love those literary ...Thanks for that, Goat. Yes, I love those literary pilgrimages too. My two favourite literary haunts near to here are Tennyson country and DH Lawrence country. Also Lord Byron is associated with Newstead Abbey, which lies not far away.The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-20377760367155686582012-01-16T10:09:53.943+00:002012-01-16T10:09:53.943+00:00Love those little pilgrimages to places for which ...Love those little pilgrimages to places for which you feel some affinity. They seldom disappoint. I did a little tour of places connected to the Kerouac story once in NYC, and various Beats in SF. Also a room in Izu, Japan, in which Mishima had written a 60s novel - I stayed there the night. So satisfying and moving.Goathttp://thegoatthatwrote.net/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-38332524672658415542012-01-16T03:16:18.483+00:002012-01-16T03:16:18.483+00:00Thanks for your comment, am. I don't know the ...Thanks for your comment, am. I don't know the paintings of Balthus at all well, so must investigate further!<br /><br />Cheers, Herringbone!<br /><br />Susan and George — my interpretation of Rilke's epitaph is this: the petals of a rose in bud can be likened to so many closed eyelids with a little imagination, i.e. symbolic of sleep, or death (when someone dies, the eyelids are drawn down). However, the closed, budding rose then opens its 'eyes' and blooms. Soon, of course, it dies. But blooms again another day.<br /><br />The rose is a perfect image for the contradictions and paradoxes we all face in life: it sleeps, it awakens, it dies, it awakens again; it blooms and withers; it gives off the most gorgeous scent, and displays the most wonderful colours, but these too decay — then return in the spring; it conceals thorns amongst its blossoms, pain and suffering amid the beauty.<br /><br />Rilke used the rose as a symbol all his life, and it is dense with significance for him. It has also been pointed out somewhere that 'Lider' (eyelids) also sounds and looks like 'Lieder' (songs) — so perhaps Rilke is saying that his songs or poems will outlive his physical body, will never sleep or die, are eternal. 'Ars long vita brevis.'<br /><br />Though what this masterpiece of poetic compression really means is anyone's (or no one's?) guess!<br /><br />Thanks, Dominic. How about 'déjà rêvé' (as opposed to déjà vu) to describe that state?The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-46008340947703889192012-01-15T19:40:11.748+00:002012-01-15T19:40:11.748+00:00There ought to be a word for the momentary sensati...There ought to be a word for the momentary sensation of wonder we feel when we come across something we know to exist but have never seen. It's very intense and more or less the same every time.<br /><br />I went to the Lakes today and -yet again- drove through Ambleside forgetting to go and look for the empty grave of Kurt Schwitters.Dominic Rivronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02618013365521035400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-62668914387647535172012-01-15T02:16:03.780+00:002012-01-15T02:16:03.780+00:00A fabulous, informative post, Robert. Perfect for...A fabulous, informative post, Robert. Perfect for the armchair traveler. While I prefer the real thing, armchair travel helps to fill the gaps when I can't be on the road. As for the epitaph, I have no idea what it means. I'm willing to assume, however, that it's profound in a way that is beyond my grasp.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03959953035812596907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-85580831192976672722012-01-15T01:47:17.539+00:002012-01-15T01:47:17.539+00:00You go to the most wonderful places and do the mos...You go to the most wonderful places and do the most wonderful things. Thanks for sharing a bit of it. As for Rilke's headstone, fascinating--what, indeed, does it signify? Enigmatic, indeed, but rich as well.Susan Scheidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250142489341777926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-61130466291617014252012-01-14T23:52:58.874+00:002012-01-14T23:52:58.874+00:00Cool SW. I'm a newbie to Year with Rilke. Pret...Cool SW. I'm a newbie to Year with Rilke. Pretty wild you're there! "...Runnin' down a dream..."Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17096402329953310721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-44444615750652964202012-01-14T23:42:04.647+00:002012-01-14T23:42:04.647+00:00Wow! For me, this is just like being there! Looks...Wow! For me, this is just like being there! Looks like a fine place for a writer to live. Rilke and Baladine look peaceful and joyful together. Thanks so much for this. <br /><br />I remember seeing Balthus' distinctive paintings at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City in 1982. Had no idea there was a connection to Rilke there. Had never heard of Balthus before seeing his paintings. His paintings are unforgettable. In my memory, they are larger than life, with rich color and enigmatic people.amhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09212213177713917828noreply@blogger.com