Posthumously published in German in 1929, these letters of great poetic insight come alive in a new edition: Letters to a Young Poet: A New Translation and Commentary (Shambhala 2021). In ten letters, Rilke not only shared personal reflections on the vocation of writing but also offered uncommon wisdom on a life, touching topics such as gender, solitude, longing and romantic love. Rilke saw himself in Kappus, and so they’re written from Rilke to Rilke-both to his past and his present. The letters aren’t really letters, they’re diaries. 1902 portrait of Rilke by his brother-in-law, Helmuth Westhoff
And so began a ten-letter correspondence lasting from 1902–1908. Rilke got lots of letters from aspiring artists, but Kappus’s touched him, for he had spent the worst five years of his young life forced by his parents into the same military school.
Kappus sent Rilke some poems and asked him for advice about becoming a writer. Rilke was 27-still a young artist with his best work ahead of him-when he got a letter from a 19-year old military school student named Franz Kappus. The preeminent Bohemian-Austrian poet, Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) left a rich legacy of poetry that contains some of the most moving and astute observations on the human condition – love, longing, solitude, creativity and God.
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