Poetry Center San Jose & ArtObjectGallery present

A Special Poetry Month Event: Daniel Polikof discusses Rodin’s influence on the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke

Rilke is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language. His haunting images focus on the difficulty of communion with the ineffable in an age of disbelief, solitude, and profound anxiety: themes that position him as a transitional figure between the traditional and the modernist poets.

Rodin taught him the value of objective observation, and under this influence Rilke dramatically transformed his poetic style from the subjective and sometimes incantatory language of his earlier work into something quite new in European literature.

On April 24th Daniel Polikof will start the evening with a bit of biographical background to place Rilke's relation to Rodin in the larger context of Rilke's life and developing work. Then he will discuss Rodin's influence on Rilke and interweave a reading of some of Rilke's New Poems which include some of his most famous pieces, such as the Panther and the Archaic Torso of Apollo (both of which will be his own translation) with a discussion of how Rilke assimilated the Rodin's sculptural aesthetic to his poetry and how this revolutionized Rilke's writing. There will be good bit of time for questions.

Saturday April 24th, 7:00PM
$5.00 suggested donation

Art Object Gallery
592 North Fifth Street
San Jose  CA

Gallery contact Ken Matsumoto at (408) 288-9305 or email at ken@artobjectgallery.com

For information about the Poetry Center email info@pcsj.org or visit http://www.pcsj.org