Letters to a Young Poet | 
pickHard pick. This book was gifted to me by a dear friend and I thank them immensely for that. There are many valuable words of wisdom and comfort for any lost souls in search of answers. Beautiful, moving and ahead of his time in a way.
"And this more human love (which will fulfill itself with infinite consideration and gentleness, and kindness and clarity in binding and releasing) will resemble what we are now preparing painfully and with great struggle: the love that consists in this: that two solitudes protect and border and greet each other."
"And you should not let yourself be confused in your solitude by the fact that there is something in you that wants to move out of it. (...) everything in Nature grows and defends itself any way it can and is spontaneously itself, tries to be itself at all costs and against all opposition."
"(...)have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms (...). Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer"
"Works of art are of an infinite solitude, and no means of approach is so useless as criticism. Only love can touch and hold them and be fair to them."
"A work of art is good if it has arisen out of necessity. That is the only way one can judge it. (...) go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which life flows; at its source you will find the answer to the question whether you must create."
“Why should you want to exclude any anxiety, any grief, any melancholy from your life, since you do not know what it is that these conditions are accomplishing in you?”
panPragmatism wrapped in less useful poeticism; esoteric phrasing and spirituality makes it more work to derive the same life advice that other books might offer more clearly. I think the particular translators for this edition may be seeing more there for a modern audience than I could perceive. Radical choice to excise some of the text of the letters and tuck it in the back with commentary. If you need to edit and explain, how much use is it?
The kind of answer that would have been unsatisfactory in my teens and twenties, and makes all the sense in the world in my thirties.
Most known to me from the tagline of the What Should I Read Next podcast…my July #bookspin Up next!
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Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language... They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a question of experiencing everything. At present you need to live the question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day.
pickOver the span of five years, Rilke corresponded with a young poet, offering encouragement and advice. The collection of letters gives us a glimpse into Rilke‘s views of the necessity of solitude, the nature of art, and the benefits of personal growth through difficult trials. The book ends with a chronicle of what was transpiring in Rilke‘s life at the time, giving further insight. He was so kind and sympathetic towards the young man. Just lovely.
“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
I don‘t know if this quote comes from the tagged book, but I wanted to share the lovely card that arrived today.
pickA collection of Rilke's ten letters to an aspiring poet, full of profound observations on how to nurture and nourish a creative soul.
pickThis is a strong contender for the best book I've read this year. Beginning as advice on the poetic impulse and the creative process from Rilke to a literary admirer, they become deeply heartfelt explorations of the human condition. Every page has something quotable, and despite its brevity (slow-reader me read it in an hour) it packs in so much. Undoubtedly a book to be re-read and reflected upon. All the stars ⭐
[With added cat silhouette 🐱]
I don't always have to have *just* the right bookmark for what I'm reading, but I love the cover design of this edition of Rilke's "Letters to a Young Poet", and knew I had an appropriate bookmark to go with it.
Cover designer, Daniel Pelavin, has, I think, been inspired by the Vienna Secession art movement of Rilke's native Austria. I got the bookmark, with a design by artist Koloman Moser, on a visit to Vienna a few years ago. ?????
"There is only one thing you should do. Go into yourself...Go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows."
pickLovely writing and interesting ideas on the human condition and the NEED to write.
Mary Oliver‘s poem “Invitation” inspired me to go read more Rilke!!
Here‘s to new reads!
pickObviously, there is no point to "reviewing" letters to a young poet: it is a masterpiece. However, this new edition by liveright publishing includes the letters Rilke is answering! It is wonderful to get the other side of the conversation, and I have never seen the English translation of those letters before. So if you can afford another book, definitely buy this edition.
Here is today's book pile from visiting my lical indy. Somehow I can't do fiction this weekend
pickIn the early 1900s, Rainer Maria Rilke wrote 10 awe-inspiring letters in response to a young student at the crossroads of a writing career. When you read these letters today, Rilke‘s insightful advice on life, love and following your passion still reaches deep within to touch your creative soul. My affinity for #epistolary books lives on. And wouldn‘t Rilke make a great #LitsyLove pen pal? 😉✍🏻
#BookSpin
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@TheAromaofBooks
pickI hardly know how to express what this little book made me feel...so much! Rilke was an expert letter-writer and his advice to a young poet transcends its original context. It‘s advice for being yourself, for living to your fullest potential. This book is simply a MUST READ MANY TIMES!!!! If you haven‘t picked up this little volume of genius please do so now! 😍
"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."
Letters to a Young Poet has plenty of relevant points and poignant sentiments. A recommended reading to writers and creators.
"Going into oneself and not meeting anyone for hours — that is what one must arrive at."
Except a book or two, you know! ?
#bedtimereading
"There is nothing less apt to touch a work of art than critical words: all we end up with there is more or less felicitous misunderstandings."
#readingrilke
“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.”
“Take pleasure in your growth in which no one can accompany you. And be kindhearted towards those you leave behind.”
pick#DearDecember Day 1: Classic #EpistolaryNovel. Iphigene‘s review: “I was drunk with those words. Inspired by them. On my third reading, I realize it was not a mere phrase for a writer. It is, if anything, an advice for life. For what is a great life, but a life that pursues its passion?” Her full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-De
Does anyone have a favorite etsy shop or website they like to order return address labels from? I'm interested in ones that actually send the labels already printed, not digital printing. Thank friends! 💓 #LitsyLove
so-soI found this short compilation of ten letters written by Rilke to be a mixed bag. There are some pithy and insightful comments, and some that are not. I wish I had done more research and read a version with the letters from the young poet included. Still, I am glad I read this, and I‘ll probably read more Rilke.
pickIt took me a long time to read this slim book. Rilke‘s letters are heavy with quotable advice and beautiful turns of phrase. I had to keep putting it down so I could think on what I had just read. This will be a book I keep turning to and flicking through - the principles of patience and solitude and creativity are much needed in my world right now. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
7-20-19: Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke Mini Book Earrings. I can make any book cover into a piece of jewelry-earrings, pendants, charm bracelets, magnets, pins, keychains and tiles. #gidgetstreasures #minibooks #minibookearrings #letterstoayoungpoet #rainermariarilke Contact me here or on my Instagram gidgetstreasures.
“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. [L]ive in the question.”
#MayMovieMagic | 20: #TomorrowNeverKnows
📷: Made with Typorama
