Tag Archives: Rainer Maria Rilke

The Poet Anticipated the Shortcomings of AI

Posted on July 9, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

The author Rainer Maria Rilke anticipated the inevitable shortcomings in the use of AI in the arts. He articulated the  essential conditions for creativity in his only novel, reflecting on what it takes to compose a great poem, but also … Continue reading →

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A people who have never experienced autumn foliage are inclined to be backward.

Posted on October 2, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

When you were an infant in Italy I was very disconcerted to be told that much of the Italian population had never seen the beauties of the autumn foliage in Vermont and New Hampshire. High in the Abruzzi there are … Continue reading →

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the shape of what you lived

Posted on May 7, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

And you wait. You wait for the one thing that will change your life, make it more than it is— something wonderful, exceptional, stones awakening, depths opening to you. In the dusky bookstalls old books glimmer gold and brown. You … Continue reading →

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For the sake of a single poem, you must see many cities

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Rainer Maria Rilke // “Ah, poems amount to so little when you write them too early in your life. You ought to wait and gather sense and sweetness for a whole lifetime, and a long one if possible, and then, … Continue reading →

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Live Your Way Into The Answer

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Rainer Maria Rilke // “Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them…the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in … Continue reading →

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In April

Posted on April 10, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

In April Rainer Maria Rilke Again the woods are odorous, the lark Lifts on upsoaring wings the heaven gray That hung above the tree-tops, veiled and dark, Where branches bare disclosed the empty day. After long rainy afternoons an hour … Continue reading →

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Let This Darkness Be a Bell Tower

Posted on April 3, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Let This Darkness Be a Bell Tower Rainer Maria Rilke Quiet friend who has come so far, feel how your breathing makes more space around you. Let this darkness be a bell tower and you the bell. As you ring, … Continue reading →

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