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Letters to a young woman
The Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) was an avid letter writer, and more than 7.000 of his letters have survived. One of his best known collection is Rilke’s Letter to a young woman, published in 1930.
This collection gathers several letters that Rilke wrote to Lisa Heise between 1919 and 1924. Rilke was in his 40s at the time of the first letter; Heise was 26 . Her husband of three years had left her and her 2-year-old son. Though Rilke and Heise never met, Rilke emerges in these letters as the compassionate listener and patient teacher.
In his final letter to Heise, her situation much improved, Rilke writes: "And what does living mean but this courage to fully grow into a cast, which one day will be broken off from our new shoulders." The result, he says, will be a joyful freedom. The poet would die two years later.
Letters to a young woman integrates the collection “Classics of World Literature”, developed by Atlântico Press, a publisher company present in the global editorial market, since 1992.
This collection gathers several letters that Rilke wrote to Lisa Heise between 1919 and 1924. Rilke was in his 40s at the time of the first letter; Heise was 26 . Her husband of three years had left her and her 2-year-old son. Though Rilke and Heise never met, Rilke emerges in these letters as the compassionate listener and patient teacher.
In his final letter to Heise, her situation much improved, Rilke writes: "And what does living mean but this courage to fully grow into a cast, which one day will be broken off from our new shoulders." The result, he says, will be a joyful freedom. The poet would die two years later.
Letters to a young woman integrates the collection “Classics of World Literature”, developed by Atlântico Press, a publisher company present in the global editorial market, since 1992.
150 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 6, 1930
9 people are currently reading
156 people want to read
About the author
Rainer Maria Rilke
1,840 books7,008 followersA mystic lyricism and precise imagery often marked verse of German poet Rainer Maria Rilke, whose collections profoundly influenced 20th-century German literature and include
The Book of Hours
(1905) and
The Duino Elegies
(1923).
People consider him of the greatest 20th century users of the language.
His haunting images tend to focus on the difficulty of communion with the ineffable in an age of disbelief, solitude, and profound anxiety — themes that tend to position him as a transitional figure between the traditional and the modernist poets.
His two most famous sequences include the Sonnets to Orpheus , and his most famous prose works include the Letters to a Young Poet and the semi-autobiographical The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge .
He also wrote more than four hundred poems in French, dedicated to the canton of Valais in Switzerland, his homeland of choice.
People consider him of the greatest 20th century users of the language.
His haunting images tend to focus on the difficulty of communion with the ineffable in an age of disbelief, solitude, and profound anxiety — themes that tend to position him as a transitional figure between the traditional and the modernist poets.
His two most famous sequences include the Sonnets to Orpheus , and his most famous prose works include the Letters to a Young Poet and the semi-autobiographical The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge .
He also wrote more than four hundred poems in French, dedicated to the canton of Valais in Switzerland, his homeland of choice.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 12, 2025
«Μόνο που, αφού μολαταύτα χρησιμοποιήσατε τη λέξη «άρον-άρον», πώς θα ήταν δυνατόν ο φίλος να μη σας υπενθυμίσει ότι σε μια τέτοια καμπή της ζωής η υπερβολική βιασύνη βλάπτει. Και πώς θα μπορούσε να μη σας νιώσει στην ψυχή του, όταν λέτε ότι αξιώνετε τώρα «γαλήνη και εμπιστοσύνη»... Φαίνεται πως υπάρχουν χώρες όπου τέτοιες επιρροές δεν είναι πλέον δυνατόν να αφεθούν ελεύθερες, καθώς ασκούνται πιέσεις από παντού. Ξανά και ξανά ο καθένας από μας αναγκάζεται να διαπιστώσει για τον εαυτό του τη μη επέλευση αυτού που θα επέρχονταν «κατά τη φυσική πορεία των πραγμάτων» σ' έναν κόσμο λιγότερο διαταραγμένο, επιφέροντας την ισορροπία της όποιας εσωτερικής κατάστασης, λείπει η φυσική επέλευση.»
November 23, 2025
Genç Şaire Mektuplar kitabını okuduktan sonra bu kitabı okudum. İlk kitapta bir arkadaş meslektaşla mektuplaşırken görüyoruz Rilkeyi. Diğer kitapta ise hayatı ve kafası karmakarışık bir hanımefendi ile. İki kitap o kadar farklı ki… İlk kitapta muhtemelen karşısındaki insanın da şair olmasından kaynaklı karşılıklı bir anlayış anlaşma birbirini anlama duygusu var. Rilke’nin coşkusunu hissedebildim. Öte yandan bu kitapta hayatta yaşadığı zorluklardan ötürü aklı ve duyguları çok karışık olan hanımefendiye karşı ise bambaşka bir tutum ve stil gördüm. Adeta hanımefendinin yaşadıkları Rilke’ye geçmiş, aynı o şekilde kafasını karıştırmış bulandırmış ne demek gerektiğini bilemez gibi. Bu sebeple bana biraz karışık ve tam ne olduğunu anlayamadığım bir mektup derlemesi gibi geldi
June 23, 2017
Auch wenn diese Briefe interessant zu lesen sind, haben mir die 'Briefe an einen jungen Dichter' besser gefallen - ich habe mehr davon 'mitgenommen' wenn man so will. Rilkes Frauenbild scheint hier (natürlich) durch, was aber auch spannend ist, sind seine Kommentare und Einschätzungen zur politischen Entwicklung, besonders in Deutschland.
October 20, 2019
Προσωπικά δεν το βρήκα ενδιαφέρον
October 7, 2022
Read it for school, not my genre to read….also I read the Dutch translation, and it was not the best translation
September 28, 2025
Title: Letters to a Young Woman
Compassion and platonic love. Creation flourishing from sorrow, and melodies that suffocate the screams.
[READ IN GREEK: TRANSLATION BY ΛΟΥΚΙΑ ΣΤΕΦΟΥ]
Compassion and platonic love. Creation flourishing from sorrow, and melodies that suffocate the screams.
[READ IN GREEK: TRANSLATION BY ΛΟΥΚΙΑ ΣΤΕΦΟΥ]
February 10, 2026
der einzige mann, den ich liebe
March 15, 2020
When i finished this i legit said out loud “awww rainer”
January 6, 2014
Ich mag Rilkes Briefwechsel, er schreibt wunderbar und sehr inspirierend. Hat mir gut gefallen, genauso wie bei "Briefe an einen jungen Dichter". Das Buch ist relativ kurz, aber gerade deswegen leicht zu transportieren. Meiner Meinung nach kann man solche Briefe immer und immer wieder lesen und wird doch immer etwas neues finden.
Want to read
September 9, 2013It is a good book.
July 10, 2022
A much lesser sibling
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews