LetterstoaYoungPoet

First Vintage Books Edition, November 1986 Copyright © 1984 by Stephen Mitchell All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United Slates by Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. This translation originally published in hardcover by Random House, Inc., New York, in 1984. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Rilke, Rainer Maria, 1875–1926. Letters to a young poet. Translation of: Briefe an einen jungen Dichter Letters written to Franz Kappus, 1903–1908. 1. Rilke. Rainer Maria. 1875–1926– Correspondence. 2. Kappus, Franz Xaver, 1883–1966— Correspondence. 3. Authors, German—20th century— Correspondence. I. Kappus, Franz Xaver, 1883–1966. II. Mitchell, Stephen. III. Title. PT2635.165z488 1987 831′.912 86-40669 eISBN: 978-0-307-78723-1 v3.1 Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Foreword Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Acknowledgments About the Author FOREWORD These extraordin......