Letters to a Young Poet

In 1903, a young student sent some of his verses to a well-known Austrian poet, requesting an assessment of their value. That poet was Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926), who would later become known for his poetic genius. In these letters, written during an important stage in Rilke's artistic development, we see the seeds of many themes he would later explore in his most famous works. Rilke himself said that this book contained part of his creative genius.