Kniga chasov [Book of Hours]

In 1899 and 1900 Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) visited Russia. The impressions from this trip led to the publication of the ‘Book of Hours’, a very unusual work written on behalf of an Orthodox monk. In addition to the ‘Book of Hours’, this edition includes translations of other works by Rilke, Francis of Assisi and Angelus Silesius, allowing a broader look at the work of the German poet. The mystical aspects of Rilke's work, his attitude to the German mystical tradition and Russian Orthodoxy are revealed in the article ‘Rilke's God’, with which the poet, translator and religious philosopher Vladimir Mikushevich prefaced his translations.