Stories of God

René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke was born into a troubled marriage on the 4th December 1875 in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His mother, having previously lost a baby girl, would dress the young boy up in girl’s clothing. Later his father dispatched him to a military academy at age 10 but after a miserable 5 years the young Rilke left due to illness and instead entered first Prague and then Munich and finally Berlin university to study art history, philosophy and literature. His initial forays into literature was in poetry. His intense, mystical and lyrical style was much admired and over time inspired many in succeeding generations. His short prose collection ‘Stories of God’, written in an impassioned burst over several nights was published in 1900 and offers a beguiling view of much of Rilke’s influences and outlook. The following year he married the pioneering sculptor and artist Clara Westhoff. The union produced one child, a daughter Ruth. He lived in Paris for most of the Century’s first decade where he mixed with many great minds of the time. Although he continued to write he also worked as a secretary to the sculptor, Rodin. It was only after they settled in Switzerland in 1919 that his writing output was in full flow. Here he wrote profusely in both German and French, which included much on his previous travels, his left-wing sympathies, his religious and existential thoughts, all part of a unique and consummate style. From 1923 on, Rilke increasingly struggled with his health which was now in constant decline and often spent time rehabilitating at a sanatorium. Rainer Maria Rilke died of leukaemia on the 29th December 1926 in Montreux, Switzerland. He was 51. 01 - Stories of God by Rainer Maria Rilke - An Introduction 02 - The Tale of the Hands of God by Rainer Maria Rilke 03 - The Stranger by Rainer Maria Rilke 04 - Why God Wants Poor People by Rainer Maria Rilke 05 - How Treason Came to Russia by Rainer Maria Rilke 06 - How Old Timofei Died Singing by Rainer Maria Rilke 07 - The Song of Justice by Rainer Maria Rilke 08 - A Scene From the Ghetto of Venice by Rainer Maria Rilke 09 - Of One Who Listened to the Stones by Rainer Maria Rilke 10 - How the Thimble Came to Be God by Rainer Maria Rilke 11 - A Tale of Death and a Strange Postscript Thereto by Rainer Maria Rilke 12 - An Indispensable Society by Rainer Maria Rilke 13 - The Beggar and the Proud Young Lady by Rainer Maria Rilke 14 - A Story Told to the Dark by Rainer Maria Rilke