Rainer Maria Rilke

'What matters is to live everything. Live the questions for now.'

A hugely influential collection for writers and artists of all kinds, Rilke's profound and lyrical letters to a young friend advise on writing, love, sex, suffering and the nature of advice itself.

One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Each book gives readers a taste of the Classics' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.

Letters to a Young Poet

Letters to a young poet

𝒱ioleta

Perhaps everything terrifying is deep down a helpless thing that needs our help. 

We have no reason to be mistrustful of our world, for it is not against us. If it holds terrors they are our terrors, / if it has its abysses these abysses belong to us, if there are dangers then we must try to love them.

love then is what my hands attempt to grasp because I want to say a prayer whose sounds my burning mouth, my lips, cannot bring forth …

The beauty of the virgin, of a being, who, as you put it so well, ‘has not yet achieved anything’, is maternity divining and preparing itself, anxious and full of longing. / And the beauty of a mother is maternity at work, and that of the old woman a great memory.

But I am very poor, and as soon as my books have appeared they cease to belong to me. I cannot buy them myself and, as I’d so often like to, give them to those who would value and look after them.

we are unutterably alone, / let alone help,

This above all: ask yourself in your night’s quietest hour: must I write? Dig down into yourself for a deep answer.

If acceptance comes and sadness is endured, what follows?

angel

‘What matters is to live everything. Live the questions for now.’

kata

“trust yourself and your instincts; even if you go wrong in your judgement, the natural growth of your inner life will gradually, over time, lead you to other insights.

 Allow your verdicts their own quiet untroubled development which like all progress must come from deep within and cannot be forced or accelerated. Everything must be carried to term before it is born. 

To let every impression and the germ of every feeling come to completion inside, in the dark, in the unsayable, the unconscious, in what is unattainable to one’s own intellect, and to wait with deep humility and patience for the hour when a new clarity is delivered.”

Alma

What goes on in your innermost being is worthy of your whole love; you must somehow keep working at it and not lose too much time and too much courage in clarifying your attitude toward people. Who tells you that you have one anyway?

Do not observe yourself too much. Do not draw too hasty conclusions from what happens to you; let it simply happen to you.

Ivana Varesko

It is good to be alone, for solitude is difficult; that something is difficult should be one more reason to do it. To love is also good, for love is hard. 

What goes on in your innermost being is worth all your love, this is what you must work on however you can and not waste too much time and too much energy on clarifying your attitude to other people. 

Take pleasure in your growth, in which no one can accompany you, and be kind-hearted towards those you leave behind, and be assured and gentle with them and do not plague them with your doubts or frighten them with your confidence or your joyfulness, which they cannot understand. Look for some kind of simple and loyal way of being together with them which does not necessarily have to alter however much you may change; love in them a form of life different from your own and show understanding for the older ones who fear precisely the solitude in which you trust. Avoid providing material for the drama which always spans between parents and their children; it saps much of the children's strength and consumes that parental love which works and warms even when it does not comprehend. Ask no advice of them and reckon with no understanding; but believe in a love which is stored up for you like an inheritance, and trust that in this love there is a strength and a benediction out of whose sphere you do not need to issue even if your journey is a long one. 

Love your solitude and bear the pain it causes you with melody wrought with lament.

If you hold close to nature, to what is simple in it, to the small things people hardly see and which all of a sudden can become great and immeasurable; if you have this love for what is slight, and quite unassumingly, as a servant, seek to win the confidence of what seems poor - then everything will grow easier, more unified and somehow more conciliatory, not perhaps in the intellect, which, amazed, remains a step behind, but in your deepest consciousness, watchfulness and knowledge. 

Artistic experience lies so incredibly close to sexual experience, to its pains and pleasures, that both phenomena are really just different forms of one and the same desire and felicity.

To be an artist means: not to calculate and count; to grow and ripen like a tree which does not hurry the flow of its sap and stands at ease in the spring gales without fearing that no summer may follow. It will come. But it comes only to those who are patient, who are simply there in their vast, quiet tranquillity, as if eternity lay before them. It is a lesson I learn every day amid hardships I am thankful for: patience is all! 

Works of art are infinitely solitary and nothing is less likely to reach them than criticism. Only love can grasp them and hold them and do them justice. 

Seek out the depths of things: irony will never reach down there - and if in so doing you come up against something truly great, inquire whether this way of relating to things originates in a necessary part of your being. 

For he who creates must be a world of his own and find everything within himself and in the natural world that he has elected to follow. 

very few things satisfy me as much as when i read a book that feels like it found me at the exact moment i most needed it. this was one of those cases.

i read this with oscar on a bench tucked behind the back of the college orchard and we stopped to discuss after every letter. these letters are so rich and layered while also getting to some very honest and simple truths. rilke's views on poetry gave me a lot to chew on — in fact i'd argue this is required reading for anyone who wants to create art of any kind — but what struck me most was how earnestly he took interest in kappus' work and responded with such care and attention. he's kind of the goat idk. reminds me of my friend sha, who might be reading this and if they are — love you sha. you are also the goat.

anyway. rip rainer maria rilke you would have hated dating apps and loved mitski.

rory

very few things satisfy me as much as when i read a book that feels like it found me at the exact moment i most needed it. this was one of those cases.

i read this with oscar on a bench tucked behind the back of the college orchard and we stopped to discuss after every letter. these letters are so rich and layered while also getting to some very honest and simple truths. rilke's views on poetry gave me a lot to chew on — in fact i'd argue this is required reading for anyone who wants to create art of any kind — but what struck me most was how earnestly he took interest in kappus' work and responded with such care and attention. he's kind of the goat idk. reminds me of my friend sha, who might be reading this and if they are — love you sha. you are also the goat.

anyway. rip rainer maria rilke you would have hated dating apps and loved mitski.

versão do século XX da minha troca anônima de correspondência (leia-se: longas mensagens no curious cat) com minha escrita de fanfic favorita em 2021-2023 ☝️

anna

cece

all about the wisdom and godspeed on one's journey towards the mastery of solitude. Life, human and its relation with the nature, and God himself. 

so thoughtful and thought-provoking. so inspirational and encouraging to live in accepted solitude and embracing growth through the many difficulties and waves of sadness brought about by life 🥹 

If only I could give this to my college self who really needs to hear the words on this book. 

Would really recommended this to someone who’s looking for answers in life/ find themselves stuck in sadness/loneliness. Definitely a recommended read for every one of all ages. 

Marie 🌊

“Live the questions for now”

If only I could give this to my college self who really needs to hear the words on this book. 

Would really recommended this to someone who’s looking for answers in life/ find themselves stuck in sadness/loneliness. Definitely a recommended read for every one of all ages. 

Beautiful beautiful beautiful. I close this book as someone who has gained much wisdom from ten letters. I believe this is my introduction to poetry and Rilke, which was challenging at first, but I really enjoyed it. I am so glad I gave this a go.

Estas CARTAS A UN JOVEN POETA, publicadas más de veinte años después de la muerte de su autor, fueron dirigidas por RAINER MARIA RILKE (1875-1926) a Franz Xaver Kappus, entre 1903 y 1906, desde los diversos lugares a donde le condujo su vida itinerante, resultado de acuciantes preocupaciones económicas y de una casi constante dependencia de sucesivos mecenazgos. Escritos en una época en la que Rilke iniciaba la transición desde una poesía ensoñadora e intimista a otra más cercana al mundo de la materia y de las formas, estos breves textos son también un documento revelador del ideario del poeta y de su concepción del mundo, desde su visión de la vocación y de la inspiración literarias hasta sus meditaciones sobre la soledad inherente a la tarea del creador.

Cartas a un joven poeta

marian

“It is also good to love: because love is difficult. For one human being to love another is perhaps the most difficult task.”

was incredibly well written, full of truths I didn’t know I needed

elinabel hidalgo 

“It is also good to love: because love is difficult. For one human being to love another is perhaps the most difficult task.”

was incredibly well written, full of truths I didn’t know I needed

'Most unsayable of all are works of art, mysterious existences whose lives exist alongside ours' At the start of the twentieth century, Rainer Maria Rilke wrote a series of letters to a young officer cadet, advising him on writing, love, sex, suffering and the nature of advice itself; these profound and lyrical letters have since become hugely influential for writers and artists of all kinds. This book also contains the 'Letter from a Young Worker', a striking polemic against Christianity written in letter-form, near the end of Rilke's life. In Lewis Hyde's introduction, he explores the context in which these letters were written and how the author embraced his isolation as a creative force. Charlie Louth's afterword discusses the similarities and contrasts of the two works, and Rilke's religious and sexual wordplay. This edition also contains a chronology, notes, and suggested further reading. Translated, edited and with notes and an afterword by Charlie Louth Introduced by Lewis Hyde

Anna 

on one hand, I am that type of person that HATES when somebody tells me what to do, how to live my life and how to feel. so of course this was not the most comfortable read. I am still a teenager, still feel some kind of rebellion towards an authority that wants to teach me the ways of life (and an authority only 8 years older than me, for that matter? oh I will rebel even more)

on the other hand, I can see why this is a great piece of literature. I understand (most of) the points that he makes, I even tabbed quite a lot of thoughts of his. 

but I feel like I'm still quite young to truly appreciate this. I am, however, interested to see my reactions to this book in five, ten years' time.

the letter from a young worker was way more interesting to me. the points he makes are similar to my thoughts, it is written rather beautifully and I didn't feel like my whole life was being bellitled by it :D

Ryan Greene

Prakash Rajendran

Didn’t want to mark the book as read as I kept coming back ;)

Grace Edwards

Not sure how to feel about this one. I thought parts were really insightful and true but overall it didn’t do much for me. I was also a little put off by the translation that I read — maybe I shouldn’t have read the commentary as I went but I thought the translators had sort of a weird presence and perspective. I wish they didn’t take portions out of the main letters. 3.5 because apparently every rating has to have a half star.

« but there is much beauty here, because there is much beauty everywhere. »

what a profound book, a stunning exploration of human feelings and poetry. this will be one of those books that will stay with me for the years to come.

florine

« but there is much beauty here, because there is much beauty everywhere. »

what a profound book, a stunning exploration of human feelings and poetry. this will be one of those books that will stay with me for the years to come.

Arihant Verma

If you are a poet/ a writer / artist / admirer of art / or even see art as something just passing, book a date with these letters.

3.5 stars — this would be life-changing for me if i had read this at 15. nevertheless, i’d probably still think about these letters from time to time.

maitha mana

Rilke's heartfelt letters talk about looking inwards into one's self, embracing solitude and making it a haven and an inspiration

Maria

we have no reason to be mistrustful of our world, for it is not against us.

Damion Searls

Franz Xaver Kappus

"Nearly a century after the publication of Rilke's inspirational work, the missing letters of the young poet himself finally appear in this canonical edition. For more than ninety years, eager writers and young poets, even those simply looking for a purpose in life, have embraced the wisdom of Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet, first published in 1929. Most readers and scholars assumed that the letters from young poet were forever lost to posterity. Yet, shockingly, the letters were recently discovered by Erich Unglaub, a Rilke scholar, and published in German in 2019. The acclaimed translator Damion Searls has now not only retranslated Rilke's original letters but also translated the letters by Franz Xaver Kappus, an Austrian military cadet and, yes, aspiring poet. This timeless edition, in addition to joining the two sets of letters together for the first time in English, provides a new window into the workings of Rilke's visionary poetic and philosophical mind, allowing us to reexperience the literary genius of one of the most inspiring works of twentieth-century literature"--

With the Letters from the Young Poet

Isabella 

loved the gentleness of the letters and of course it is filled with rich thoughts. enjoyed reading them and needed to hear some of them at present

Born in Prague when it was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire and recognized today as a master of verse, poet Rainer Maria Rilke was considerably less well known in 1902 when he received a heartfelt letter from an aspiring poet. A 19-year-old student sent Rilke some of his verses, seeking an opinion of their worth. Rilke declined to offer a critique, instead encouraging the student to rely upon his own inner judgment: "Nobody can advise and help you, nobody. There is only one single means. Go inside yourself." This seemingly dismissive letter proved to be the first of ten, written during a six-year period that coincided with an important stage in Rilke's artistic development. The poet offered his young correspondent further advice on developing a rich inner life as well as guidance on broader philosophical and existential issues. These letters, which explore many of the themes that later emerged in Rilke's best works, remain a captivating source of insights into the artistic identity and process.

It got good ideas and stuff I second with, a tiny bit inspiring. But half of the book is just pretty words I don't really care about tbh. 3.5

annalyse! 

Maximus

A beautiful and benevolently breathtaking insight into the correspondence shared between the poet Rainer Maria Rilke and a military officer and aspiring poet at the time, Mr. Franz Kappus. This 52 paged book is comprised of 10 letters dated from 1902 to 1908 that Rilke wrote to Kappus bestowing deep advice and sage-like wisdom on many elements crucial to experiencing a better and more well-rounded life.

This correspondence read as if Rilke was communicating with Kappus on a celestial level of humane embrace. Every segment of each letter regarding its topic was meticulously explained and yet, not a word was wasted or misplaced. A mesmerizing paradox.

The letters touched on a variety of topics. A few that I can remember reading about were, firstly, the pivotal and progressive triad that exists between youth, loneliness and love. Secondly, the significant impact that expressions of art (or an art-form) and creativity can have, so long as it comes from a pure place. Thirdly, the value which comes from embracing and accepting personal sadnesses as a means to adequately prepare oneself for the future. Fourthly, that it’s okay to let things happen, and that it’s important to bring oneself away from trying to wonder why, in order to avoid the arrival at wrong conclusions and misplaced blame. Lastly, the crucial momentousness of dedicating oneself to a being in solitary.

To summarise this book in a sentence:
"If you're like me and can't afford therapy, this book acts as the more cost-effective and emotionally beneficial alternative which you never knew you needed."

Of course, there was so much more to this book. However, I will stop my review here in the hopes that it has piqued your interest enough and let you experience it for yourself.

Letters to a Young Poet

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