A Poem
By Maria Rilke Rainer
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 2011. Edition of 51
("Rilke's age when we wandered from this earthly realm").

3 x 3.25"; 34 pages. Letterpress printed using photopolymer plates. Drumleaf binding. Paper-covered boards with title label inset on front board.

This poem is from Rilke's Book of Hours: Love Poems to God, translated by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy. This apparently freehand rendition (printed with photopolymer plates) incorporates text, image, and graphic design to lead us whimsically through a serious minefield of thought:

God speaks to each of us as he makes us
Then walks with us silently out of the night.…
Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Don’t let yourself lose me….

$95