Letters to a Young Poet

Every page is stamped with Rilke's characteristic grace, and the book is free of the breathless effect that occasionally mars his poetry. His ideas on gender and the role of the artist are also surprisingly prescient. And even his retrograde comment on the "beauty of the virgin" (which the poet derives from the fact that she "has not yet achieved anything") is counterbalanced by his perception that "the sexes are more related than we think." Those looking for an alluring image of the solitary artist--and for an astonishing quotient of wisdom--will find both in Letters to a Young Poet.

Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) was born in Prague into a German-speaking family. While based in Paris, he traveled broadly until finally settling in Switzerland. Rilke's verse deeply influenced subsequent poets and writers. His Duino Elegies and Sonnets to Orpheus count among the great achievements in world literature. Some of Rilke's letters are available in English as Letters to a Young Poet, Letters on Life, and The Dark Interval.