***Announcement***

REMINDER! Two chances to join OLN LIVE this month! Thursday, July 20, from 3 – 4 PM EST AND Saturday, July 22, from 10 – 11 AM EST. You may still link one poem as usual for OLN (Open Link Night) even if you not attend a live session. Hope to see you there!

Greetings! Michelle Beauchamp (aka Mish) here as your host for Prosery today.

This writing challenge of prose can be flash fiction or creative non-fiction. It cannot exceed 144 words (sans title). It must not be poetry (ex: no line breaks, versification, meter). It must contain the given line of poetry within the body of the prose. You may break up the line with punctuation, capitalization, add words to the beginning or end of it but you cannot insert words within the line. Those are the rules, now let’s dive in.

I chose the work of Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 – 1926) to explore as I found it to stand out from the poetry of his era. After doing more research into his bio, it became clear that he played a significant role in bridging the gap between traditional and modernist poetry.

Born in Prague, the capital of what was then Austria-Hungary, Rilke was originally named “Rene Maria” . As a result of his mother’s longing for a daughter who had died in infancy, she dressed and treated him as a girl in his early years. His parents separated and at the age of ten, he was sent to military academy by his father. After five unhappy years there he attended a German prep school, but eventually returned to Prague to study literature, art history and philosophy.

In 1895, Rilke published a volume of love poetry, called Life and Songs. However, his most influential poetry blossomed in the 1900’s with Duino Elegies and Sonnets to Orpheus. His most recognized prose works are Letters to a Young Poet and The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge . He often wrote of angels, roses and figures of Greek mythology. There are themes of love, life, loneliness, childhood fears, religion, the human condition and the meaning of life. At one point, his style took a turn, with the introduction of “object poems” (Ding-Gedicht) , a collection called New Poems. Much of his work has a mystical or philosophical quality that I was very drawn to. He speaks of the co-existence of beauty and suffering, life and death. His poetry and lyrical prose has been quoted in movies and music.

Though he was highly respected by his peers, he was quite unknown to the public. As the story goes for many poets of his time, the true impact of his work occurred after his death, influencing many well known poets worldwide. Rainer Maria Rilke died of leukemia in Switzerland in December of 1926.

The line I have chosen for you to include in your prose is from the poem, “The First Elegy”, Duinos Elegies by Rainer Maria Rilke. You can find the entire poem here.

For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror.”

from “The First Elegy”, Duinos Elegies by Rainer Maria Rilke

Sources: www.allpoetry.com, www.poemhunter.com, www.thoughtco.com, www.wikipedia.com,

Here’s how to join in:

• Write a piece of flash fiction or other prose no more than 144 words that includes the line given.
• Post your prose on your blog.
• Click on Mr. Linky below to add your name and direct url to your prose.
• Add a link for dVerse on your page so others can find us.
• Visit your fellow poets on the list to read their poems and comment.
• Pull up a seat at the pub to say hello.
• Enjoy!