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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
inspiring
reflective
“… not afraid that afterward summer may not come. it does come. but only to those who are patient, who are there as if eternity lay before them. i learn it every day of my life, learn it with pain i am grateful for.”
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
These letters felt like a warm hug and I keep rereading passages to remind myself of the beautifully worded advice and thoughts Rilke shared with Kappus. I wanted to share my favourite quotes but I genuinely can't pick and, since it's such a small book, just read the whole thing! Rilke was such a brilliant mind
Excellent!!! Read this for book club! Sad to say I probably wouldn’t have picked this up on my own but I loved it. I wish I had read this when I was 16. Very insightful reflections on joy and suffering and growing up!
“If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself, tell yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches; for to the creator there is no poverty and no poor indifferent place.”
“If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself, tell yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches; for to the creator there is no poverty and no poor indifferent place.”
I enjoyed reading this, and I feel it is something I'll come back and read snippets from a lot.
oh i found solace with this book now, words that feels like a sacred space I should return to anytime ♥
It’s essentially a collection of letters Rilke wrote to a young aspiring poet, Franz Xaver Kappus, who sought Rilke’s guidance on life and art. Each letter captures his belief in embracing solitude, where he sees solitude not as loneliness but as a vital space for introspection and inner growth. A book that exhorts us to write from the heart, trust what lies ahead, and seek beauty in both silence and questions.
Writing had always been part of me being alive, a quiet, constant need to give form to the words that press against my silence. to pour the unsaid onto a page where they can finally breathe. The constant thought between the aching to be known and having my rawest self revealed, held up to the light of someone else’s gaze—was almost too much. Who would care to read these fragments of me, anyway?
But then, I came across this book and it was as though a hand reached across the years to grasp mine. His letters spoke to parts of me I hadn’t dared to acknowledge, corners of my soul I’d left untouched. And suddenly, those pieces—the unsent letters, the late-night thoughts spilling into my notes app at 3am, the awkward poems that never seemed to find a rhythm and the papers written out of duty began to feel less like failures and more like fragments of something whole, something real. It became markers of who I am. They may be scattered and unpolished, but they are mine, and this is what makes me a writer—not the thought of being read, but the act of writing itself. It’s in those quiet, private moments, in the messy, half-formed lines that never find an audience, that I feel closest to the heart of what it means to create. Writing isn’t about the approval of others; it’s about giving voice to my own truth, honoring it even if it trembles. Through these words, I am alive, and that alone is enough.
Rilke’s writing is full of poetic language, often lyrical and melancholic, yet deeply compassionate. Making his reflections feel like a gentle invitation to consider one’s own path, be it in art or in life.
It’s essentially a collection of letters Rilke wrote to a young aspiring poet, Franz Xaver Kappus, who sought Rilke’s guidance on life and art. Each letter captures his belief in embracing solitude, where he sees solitude not as loneliness but as a vital space for introspection and inner growth. A book that exhorts us to write from the heart, trust what lies ahead, and seek beauty in both silence and questions.
Writing had always been part of me being alive, a quiet, constant need to give form to the words that press against my silence. to pour the unsaid onto a page where they can finally breathe. The constant thought between the aching to be known and having my rawest self revealed, held up to the light of someone else’s gaze—was almost too much. Who would care to read these fragments of me, anyway?
But then, I came across this book and it was as though a hand reached across the years to grasp mine. His letters spoke to parts of me I hadn’t dared to acknowledge, corners of my soul I’d left untouched. And suddenly, those pieces—the unsent letters, the late-night thoughts spilling into my notes app at 3am, the awkward poems that never seemed to find a rhythm and the papers written out of duty began to feel less like failures and more like fragments of something whole, something real. It became markers of who I am. They may be scattered and unpolished, but they are mine, and this is what makes me a writer—not the thought of being read, but the act of writing itself. It’s in those quiet, private moments, in the messy, half-formed lines that never find an audience, that I feel closest to the heart of what it means to create. Writing isn’t about the approval of others; it’s about giving voice to my own truth, honoring it even if it trembles. Through these words, I am alive, and that alone is enough.
Rilke’s writing is full of poetic language, often lyrical and melancholic, yet deeply compassionate. Making his reflections feel like a gentle invitation to consider one’s own path, be it in art or in life.
Não estava à espera de ficar tão assoberbada com este livro.
Correspondendo com um jovem aspirante a poeta, Rilke guia-o na sua jornada, ajuda-o a descobrir o seu propósito e a melhor maneira de viver a vida em toda a sua essência. Aborda temas como a dúvida, a criatividade, a solidão, a sexualidade e as relações, vistos através da sua perspectiva (que mostra ser algo moderna em relação à sua época).
As dez cartas compiladas neste livro estão repletas de reflexão e introspecção, fazendo-nos olhar para nós próprios e para a forma como olhamos para o mundo.
Para além de tudo isto, a escrita de Rilke tem uma profundidade tal, que cada palavra parece ter um significado intenso por si só, como se cada uma fosse escolhida cuidadosamente, para formar uma prosa tão poética como a própria poesia.
É uma leitura que recomendo a toda a gente que se encontra dominada pela dúvida, em busca de um propósito ou simplesmente à procura de uma nova forma de olhar para a vida.
Correspondendo com um jovem aspirante a poeta, Rilke guia-o na sua jornada, ajuda-o a descobrir o seu propósito e a melhor maneira de viver a vida em toda a sua essência. Aborda temas como a dúvida, a criatividade, a solidão, a sexualidade e as relações, vistos através da sua perspectiva (que mostra ser algo moderna em relação à sua época).
As dez cartas compiladas neste livro estão repletas de reflexão e introspecção, fazendo-nos olhar para nós próprios e para a forma como olhamos para o mundo.
Para além de tudo isto, a escrita de Rilke tem uma profundidade tal, que cada palavra parece ter um significado intenso por si só, como se cada uma fosse escolhida cuidadosamente, para formar uma prosa tão poética como a própria poesia.
É uma leitura que recomendo a toda a gente que se encontra dominada pela dúvida, em busca de um propósito ou simplesmente à procura de uma nova forma de olhar para a vida.
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Rilke’s advice echoes beyond aspirations to be a writer - he gives advice on how to love. How to live. In pain. In sadness. In heart break. In discontentment and confusion. He doesn’t give you a solution, he gives you a state of mind - a way of thinking. That maybe, despite it all, this is still A LIFE that you have every obligation to LIVE.
I plan on rereading this book every year.
I plan on rereading this book every year.