Letters to a Young Poet: Little Black Classics (Penguin Little Black Classics) Paperback – March 3, 2016

"Letters to a Young Poet," newly translated by Mark Harman and published by Harvard University Press, is one of only three hardback editions solely devoted to Rilke's ten letters to Franz Kappus. One, with a translation by Joan M. Burnham (Letters to a Young Poet), has been criticized for compromising the beauty of Rilke's prose. The other is a Modern Library edition featuring a widely praised translation by Stephen Mitchell, which you can find at this link: Letters to a Young Poet (Modern Library). Both Harman and the elder Mitchell are well respected for their craft. From what I've read of reviewers who understand the nuances and challenges of translating German to English, these two men have produced probably the best available translations of this work in English.If you don't want to buy a cheaper paperback version of "Letters to a Young Poet" (maybe because you predict the work will become an enduring addition to your personal library), or if your purchase is intended as a gift, here are some points to help you decide between these two excellent choices.Both books, as physical objects, are attractively made, printed on good quality paper, sturdily constructed to stand the tests of time. The Harvard University Press edition has attributes of a well-made book: its boards are fully cloth covered (the Modern Library book is half-cloth), and its page signatures are stitch-sewn. If you spread open the book at pages 64-65, for example, you'll see connecting thread running down the center, which helps the book lay flatter than the glued binding of the Modern Library book. But the Modern Library edition is a full one inch larger vertically (to see this size difference, please see the "customer photos" I've posted, linked to in the upper left corner of this Amazon page). The text of the Mitchell translation is printed in noticeably larger type than that of Harman, which for some readers will mean more comfortable reading experience.Mitchell supplies only a brief introduction to his translation, while Harman's introduction, at 20 pages, is longer than even the longest of Rilke's ten letters.Befitting its academic imprimatur, the Harvard edition includes an Index, although I'm not fully convinced of its utility. For example, consider this famous passage in Letter VIII as rendered by Harman:"How could we possibly forget those old myths that arise at the origin of all peoples, the myths about dragons, who at the point of greatest extremity transform themselves into princesses; perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses, who are merely waiting to see us just once as beautiful and courageous. Perhaps everything terrible is in essence only the helplessness that is seeking our help."If, months after finishing the book, you want a second look at that charmed observation and so turn to the Index for help, you'll come up empty handed. There's no listing for "dragons" or "princesses." Two more examples: throughout the letters Rilke comments on the season of spring, and he writes about pregnancy both as actuality and as metaphor; but "spring" and "pregnancy" are also missing from the Index.And yet, if you want to gain a sense of what these ten letters are all about, it's a revealing exercise to scan the Index and pick out the entries pointing to the most page references:Art, Childhood, Creativity, Doubt, Gender, God, Inspiration, Love, Nature, Patience, Questions, Sex, Solitude, and Sorrows.Is it by chance this alphabetical arrangement forms a kind of rough "life-stages of man" sequence -- an arc that doubtless would have pleased the poet? Maybe what this should remind us is that it is the enduring content of the letters themselves that matters most. To partake of Rilke's spirit, you really can't go wrong with either presentation of these "Letters to a Young Poet."

Nothing to dislike. As a 74 year old poet, I am reminded by Rilke that I have much to offer the public and, more to the point, the writing public. Rilke accepts the mantel of mentor seriously and befriends the questioning fan.He makes clear that poets don't make money, but they do make a significant contribution to readers and to the literary world. He does it without preaching. I could feel myself on a park bench, at a coffee house, as Rilke reaches out to the young questioner. "My books as soon as they are published are no longer mine." What writer has not pondered wanting to give a book to a friend, to share, but been constrained by the need to conserve scarce resources and save the books for buying customers.I could go on, but one more quote: "...in the deepest and most important matters, we are unspeakably alone." There is the heart of the poet, the recognizing that only he can probe a being well, and he has to do it alone. Superb short reminder of the burden and glory of writing.

If you have a chance to write a letter to a younger self, what that letter is going to be about? Between 1903 and 1910, Rainer Maria Rilke wrote 10 letters to Franz Kappus, a young poet, on the matter of poetry, existence, love, truth, and solitude. The sequence of letters, which Mr. Kappus published three years after Rilke’s death, reflected overarching themes of Rilke’s creative development.Politely declining to look at Mr. Kappus poems Rilke urges a young poet not to look for outside or the other person in order to fill that solitude rather exploring inside and embracing whatever comes his way. Rilke creates a framework how to become a genuine through recognizing Nature and Things around, listening to the inner self, and reflecting those. He also emphasizes the gift and burden of solitude making clear that it is not worth to be replaced by a cheap communication. “…there is only one solitude, and it is vast, heavy, difficult to bear, and almost everyone has hours when he would gladly exchange it for any kind of sociability, however trivial or cheap…” He asks a young poet to look at life and its different phenomena from the prism of solitude and not escaping it.This tiny book is a must-read for anyone between age 20-35.

If you've never read this book, I recommend it for the experience. It's a quick read that gives you a glimpse into Rilke's perspective of life. It gives generally gives good life advice to the young poet writing him that I value today. For instance, Rilke tells the writer not to be too concerned with how others perceive him or whether they find his material worthy of accolades. I think today it's so easy to get caught up in being accepted and finding our worth from the eyes of others, but it's a dangerous trap. You'll live your life on a hamster wheel if you're constantly seeking approval of others without the self-confidence to take your own path. It's a great read and one that I'd return to periodically. A perfect gift for young people, especially. I think I'll get one for a cousin who's graduating high school soon.