"give me breathing space"
Rilke, Hugo, Gregg, Mandelstam, Sze, Rukeyser, Weismiller
Rainer Maria Rilke, to Lou Andreas-Salomé, Aug. 11, 1903:
Look: I don't want to tear life and art apart either: I know that sometime, somewhere they are of one mind. But I am maladroit in life and therefore, when it closes around me, it is often just a way station for me, a delay...For art is a thing that is too big and too heavy for a single life and even those who have reached a ripe old age are only beginners.
Richard Hugo:
Linda Gregg:
Osip Mandelstam (trans. W.S. Merwin):
Arthur Sze:
Muriel Rukeyser:
Edward Weismiller:
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