Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke

by M.D. Herter Norton

126 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 1934

About the author

Mary D. Herter Norton was an American publisher, violinist and translator. She used the name M.D. Herter Norton as a violinist and translator.

She founded the publishing company W. W. Norton & Company with her husband, William Warder Norton.

Reviews

[Laila · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been meaning to read these for so long! It’s always beautiful to read about how someone conceives of themselves and their work along with what they think others will find useful from it. I learned a lot about Rilke and myself through reading these. This is someone who is deeply aware of the world and himself. I’ll be coming back to these periodically in the years to come as this is the kind of work that will bring revelations about the world and the self with each new reading.

[Andi · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are sentences and paragraphs of gold in these letters. I understand now why Letters to a Young Poet is so often quoted, especially among artists and writers. However, this particular revised edition is oddly organized by the publisher. The setting and background for each letter is given in the second half of the book rather than the first. It makes for confusing reading. Also, this cover is not correct for the copy I have, but the copyright date and translator are correct, so I'm choosing this one from the many options available on Goodreads. Perhaps there is a better edition?

[Laurie AH · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were moments of brilliance and depth here, of course, but I think I need to read a different translation. The language seemed so stilted and old-fashioned.

[Shinji007 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be just so-so. I feel I might have connected with it differently had I read it as a young man in my 20s and not a man in my 50s.

[Amy Bush · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful insight to the human condition and how to write from those places of solitude and interiority.

[Namy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it before and I’ll read it again and again but Norton’s translation in particular is 🙏 I ought to read this book everyday

[Felicia Iancu · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Letters to a Young Poet” isn’t a book — it’s a quiet initiation.

Each letter feels like a whisper across time, from one soul that has already burned and been remade, to another still learning how to stand in the fire.

Rilke doesn’t teach how to write — he teaches how to be. How to listen, how to wait, how to bear solitude until it becomes a cathedral. His words are tender, severe, and cleansing; they open the self like light through an old window.

Every reread reveals a new truth — not about poetry, but about existence. This little book contains the echo of all that matters: patience, depth, and the courage to remain faithful to one’s own becoming.