I Flow… I Am

“I Flow… I Am” is a setting of Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy’s translation of Rilke’s 29th and ultimate sonnet to Orpheus. It is a spiritual commentary on the courage it takes to be present in darkness, breathing, speaking, living, and loving through pain and uncertainty. As Macy suggests, we may only survive on this planet by flowing with the turbulence of the earth, taking refuge in its beautiful chaos.

This work was commissioned in 2016 by South Salem High School Symphonic Choir under the direction of Will McLean and premièred in March 2017 in Salem, Oregon.

-Mari Esabel Valverde

About the poet:
Beloved poet Rainer Maria Rilke was born in Prague, then Austria-Hungary in December 1875 and died of leukæmia in December 1926 in Montreux, Switzerland. Initially enrolled in military school, he left to attend German preparatory school and fulfilled his education at Charles University to specialize in literature. Within his first two years in University, he had published three German language poetry collections.

While Rilke spent years traveling extensively—to Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, and Egypt—absorbing a variety of artistic influence, his most prolific period took place at the turn of the 20th century in Paris, France. There, he was impacted by the work of sculptor Auguste Rodin and painter Paul Cézanne. The First World War evacuated him to Germany and eventually to Switzerland where, with impending illness, he composed his final works, among which include Die Sonette an Orpheus or the Sonnets to Orpheus of 1923.

About the translators:
Internationally published poet and translator Anita Barrows, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and tenured professor at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California. Her practice predominantly treats children, adolescents, and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities as well LGBT adults suffering from trauma, abuse, or chronic illness. Author of four poetry collections, she holds Masters degrees in English literature and Italian literature from Boston University and University of California, Berkeley, respectively. Her accolades include grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Centrum Foundation, and the Ragsdale Foundation as well as the Quarterly Review of Literature’s Contemporary Poetry Award.

Author of over a dozen books, Joanna Macy, PhD, has devoted her life to activism, advocating for justice, peace, and ecological awareness. Her approach balances Buddhist scholarship and science, the psychological with the spiritual. With the purpose of addressing desperation and disconnection to create meaningful, collaborative action, her teachings honor the earth as a living thing with which all humanity can connect. Covering five continents, her travels conducting lectures, workshops, and training sessions have influenced thousands of people. She is now retired and resides in Berkeley, California, close to her children and grandchildren.