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Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2025 season is here. The 2024 archive is here. This episode, of which the first 20 minutes are free, concerns Rainer Maria Rilke’s Duino Elegies. We consider Rilke’s biography and progress as a poet toward modernism and the poetics of the New Age exemplified by Rilke’s agentic idealism; then we turn to angels, mothers, lovers, puppets, acrobats, blossoms, concepts, animals, poets, and stars in the Duino Elegies. Please like, share, comment, and subscribe! The slideshow corresponding to the episode can be downloaded behind the paywall: