»Rilkes letzte Geliebte« Lesung mit Julia Franck

Moderator: Frieder von Ammon (LMU)

“Knowing that you are unhappy prevents me from living my life just as much as it prevents me from making you happy,”

Rilke writes to Baladine Klossowska. The German-French painter from a Jewish family (and mother of the future painter Balthus) is the famous poet’s last love. In 1920, a passionate—and soon unequal—relationship began: she sought closeness, while he needed distance and peace to write. The last letter Rilke wrote before his death was addressed to her. In *I Am Drowning in the Waters of My Own Love: Rilke’s Last Lover* (Pfaueninsel Verlag), Julia Franck (winner ofthe German Book Prize for *Die Mittagsfrau*) weaves the correspondence and biographical sources into a captivating literary portrait. In this Rilke anniversary year, she shifts the perspective: It is not the poet, but the painter who takes center stage—as an artist, a mother, and a lover.

Advance ticket sales begin on September 1, 2026

Organizer: Literaturhaus Foundation