Congratulations to Charlie Louth on the long-awaited publication of his book, Rilke: The Life of the Work (OUP), which was completed with the help of a Leverhulme Fellowship. The book is an attempt to give a reading of the whole span of Rilke’s work, including his translations and the lesser-known poems written in French, with a focus on describing the experience of what it is to read a poem, and particularly a poem by Rilke.
Charlie says: 'Rilke himself was interested in the point when we look up from our reading, when the adjustments the mind undergoes as it makes its way through a poem momentarily come into contact with the world outside. How do the two experiences relate? Does poetry make anything happen? This is what I mean by the ‘life’ of Rilke’s work.’