I've been reading this book...which without even finishing it I will strongly recommend it to anyone who is an artist, writer, poet or who creates absolutely anything. The book is called "Letters To A Young Poet" by Rainer Maria Rilke. I'm telling you it is absolutely amazing. I walk away from literally almost each page shaking my head at how much it strikes the heart of an artist. The gist of the book is as follows. A young writer by the name of Franz Xaver Kappus seeks out Rilke and asks him to critique his work. Rilkes response is not one that he or any person would expect im sure because Rilke, a renowned poet, tells Kappus that he is not worthy to critique his writing if he is writing from the heart and if he feels he can not live without writing. It jumpstarts this wonderful relationship through letters between the two poets and as you read you dive a little deeper into each part of the writers hearts. You see the vulnerability in Rilke and how passionate he is about writing. Though I don't believe you ever read a letter from Kappus, you can sense his gratitude and respect for Rilke and the privilege he feels it is to have a friendship with such a person. A line from the book that almost made me cry reading it is "Go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows, at its source you will find the answer to the question "Must I Create". To someone who longs to be heard through his art...a line like that is golden. I loved it so much that im getting it put on my forearm for my 21st birthday and my first tattoo. But on the real, this is an amazing book...go pick it up...its like 10 bucks.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
The Letters....
I've been reading this book...which without even finishing it I will strongly recommend it to anyone who is an artist, writer, poet or who creates absolutely anything. The book is called "Letters To A Young Poet" by Rainer Maria Rilke. I'm telling you it is absolutely amazing. I walk away from literally almost each page shaking my head at how much it strikes the heart of an artist. The gist of the book is as follows. A young writer by the name of Franz Xaver Kappus seeks out Rilke and asks him to critique his work. Rilkes response is not one that he or any person would expect im sure because Rilke, a renowned poet, tells Kappus that he is not worthy to critique his writing if he is writing from the heart and if he feels he can not live without writing. It jumpstarts this wonderful relationship through letters between the two poets and as you read you dive a little deeper into each part of the writers hearts. You see the vulnerability in Rilke and how passionate he is about writing. Though I don't believe you ever read a letter from Kappus, you can sense his gratitude and respect for Rilke and the privilege he feels it is to have a friendship with such a person. A line from the book that almost made me cry reading it is "Go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows, at its source you will find the answer to the question "Must I Create". To someone who longs to be heard through his art...a line like that is golden. I loved it so much that im getting it put on my forearm for my 21st birthday and my first tattoo. But on the real, this is an amazing book...go pick it up...its like 10 bucks.
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2 comments:
I thought I was your best friend...
"Go within and scale the depths of your being from which your very life springs forth. At it's source you will find the answer to the question, "Must I create?".
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