Born in Prague on December 3, 1875, Rainer Maria Rilke led a wandering and solitary existence despite his encounters with Lou Andreas-Salomé in 1896 and Clara Westhoff, a student of Rodin whom he married in 1901. Secretary to Rodin, then translator of Gide, he died in Switzerland on December 29, 1926.
Pierre Klossowski was a novelist and essayist born in 1905 and died in 2001. The older brother of the painter Balthus, himself a painter, both having been raised in a milieu of artists and writers, Pierre Klossowski was also a philosopher, translator and screenwriter.
Grand national prize for Literature in 1981.
Correspondence between Rainer Maria Rilke and Lou Andreas-Salomé
In 1897, the young writer Rainer Maria Rilke met Lou Andreas-Salomé in Munich. Their instant connection blossomed into a long and loving friendship and an exceptional artistic and personal bond. This correspondence recounts the story of this strong and precious relationship, which lasted until Rilke's death.
Prefaced and translated by Pierre Klossowski, a close friend of Rainer Maria Rilke, this series of letters, of paramount literary value, reveals a reflection on the meaning of life, human exchanges, and the difficulty of living and creating.
This correspondence is followed by "In the meditation room" , a text by Pierre Klossowski.