Mentors & Teachers of Rainer Maria Rilke: Auguste Rodin

Wednesday, July 17, 2024; 4 - 5:30pm

Located in the Auditorium at SebArts

The young poet Rainer Maria Rilke had much to learn as he set off on his inward journey. Join Dr. Jon Jackson and follow Rilke as he meets the mentors who taught him how to be a poet, a lover, an artist, and how to live one’s life in the world. These are Lou Andreas-Salomé, Auguste Rodin, Jens-Peter Jacobsen, and Paul Cézanne. Rilke will come to life in these exciting and interactive in-person presentations. You are welcome to come to one or all.

Auguste Rodin

In 1902, poet Rainer Maria Rilke was commissioned to write a monograph on the little-known sculptor Auguste Rodin who was emerging onto the world stage after being rejected for almost 40 years. After immersing himself in Rodin’s works, Rilke asked: “How must one live?” Dr. Jon Jackson will guide you through Rodin’s answers to that question. The result was Rilke’s brilliant book on Rodin, and his magnificent and imaginal New Poems. Come join this in-person interactive presentation.

About the Instructor: Dr. Jon Jackson is a retired neuropsychiatrist and an award-winning poet. He teaches courses on the poet Rainer Maria Rilke and on A Psychological Approach to the Old Testament. He leads an online reading group on the works of Lou Andreas-Salome that is sponsored by the SF Jung Institute. He has also taught at Sonoma State University and at Creativity & Madness in Santa Fe, NM.