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Loading... Letters to a Young Poet (original 1929; edition 1993)by Rainer Maria Rilke, M.D. Herter Norton (Translator)
Work InformationLetters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke (1929)
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This was pretty terrible. Rilke is repetitive. His writing is abstract, philosophical; he says a whole lot of nothing with a lot of words - and his views are just wrong. Apparently, poets (or creative people, more generally) shouldn't try to improve their lives, but just "let life happen to them," nor should they try to make friends and form meaningful connections with other humans, but rather "embrace aloneness." Doing those things will make someone a real artist, because all real artists are angsty and no one could possibly understand them, right? More disturbing is Rilke's view that sex and sexuality are practically the epitome of life; virgins are described as people who haven't yet accomplished anything in life. Because having sex is such a huge accomplishment? And the only one that matters, I guess. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Publisher SeriesInsel-Bücherei (Nr. 406)
Essays.
Language Arts.
Nonfiction.
HTML: These have been called the most famous and beloved letters of the past century. Rainer Maria Rilke himself said that much of his creative expression went into his correspondence, and here he touches upon a wide range of subjects that will interest writers, artists,and thinkers. This luminous translation of Rainer Maria Rilke's classic offers brilliant inspiration to all people who seek to know and express their inner truth. Letters to a Young Poet is a classic that should be required reading for anyone who dreams of expressing themselves creatively. .No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresNo genres Melvil Decimal System (DDC)831.912Literature German literature and literatures of related languages German poetry 1900- 1900-1990 1900-1945LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Rilke gives wise advice like these. But more than that I enjoyed seeing his poetic mind reasoning. He sees the world differently, more sensually, more metaphorically. He trusts the world and all that is happening. There is little cliche or tradition in his thinking, he constructs everything himself.
Rilke is a brave, bright and kind soul. In this book he tries to help another soul deal with hardship and fears that so often besiege a young poet or perhaps any person of any age. ( )