# Letters to a Young Poet

Canonical: https://www.bookquiver.com/rainer-maria-rilke/letters-to-a-young-poet

![Letters to a Young Poet](https://quivercdn.com/covers/penguin-classics/rainer-maria-rilke/letters-to-a-young-poet_978-02-4162-003-8.jpg?v=2026-04-25%2003%3A20%3A22)

- Authors: [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://www.bookquiver.com/rainer-maria-rilke)
- Language: en_GB
- Published: 2011-04-07

## Description

At the start of the twentieth century, Rainer Maria Rilke wrote a series of letters to a young officer cadet, advising him on writing, love, sex, suffering and the nature of advice itself; these profound and lyrical letters have since become hugely influential for writers and artists of all kinds. This book also contains the 'Letter from a Young Worker', a striking polemic against Christianity written in letter-form, near the end of Rilke's life. In Lewis Hyde's introduction, he explores the context in which these letters were written and how the author embraced his isolation as a creative force. Charlie Louth's afterword discusses the similarities and contrasts of the two works, and Rilke's religious and sexual wordplay. This edition also contains a chronology, notes, and suggested further reading.

## Editions

### Letters to a Young Poet

- Publisher: penguin_classics
- ISBN: 978-02-4162-003-8
- Pages: 128
- Published: 2023-02-23
- Language: en_GB

### Letters to a Young Poet

- Publisher: shambhala
- ISBN: 978-16-1180-686-1
- Pages: 120
- Published: 2021-06-01
- Language: en_US

### Letters to a Young Poet

- Publisher: penguin_classics
- ISBN: 978-02-4125-205-5
- Pages: 64
- Published: 2016-03-03
- Language: en_GB

### Letters to a Young Poet

- Publisher: Penguin
- Medium: ebook
- ISBN: 978-02-4125-206-2
- Published: 2016-03-03
- Language: en_GB

### Letters to a Young Poet

- Publisher: Penguin
- Medium: audio
- Length: 1 h 51 min
- Narrated by: Dan Stevens
- ISBN: 978-01-4198-344-8
- Published: 2016-01-28
- Language: en_GB

### Letters to a Young Poet

- Publisher: penguin_classics
- ISBN: 978-01-4119-232-1
- Pages: 112
- Published: 2012-04-05
- Language: en_GB

### Letters to a Young Poet

- Publisher: Penguin
- Medium: ebook
- ISBN: 978-01-4196-047-0
- Published: 2011-04-07
- Language: en_GB

### Letters to a Young Poet

- Publisher: modern_library
- ISBN: 978-06-7964-232-9
- Pages: 128
- Published: 2001-12-04
- Language: en_US

## This book in other languages

- [Letters to a Young Poet](https://www.bookquiver.com/rainer-maria-rilke/de/letters-to-a-young-poet) (de_DE)