Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
C$23.95
With the Letters from the Young Poet
Translation by Damion Searls
Hardcover, 256 pages, ISBN: 9781631497674
Published by Liveright (WW Norton), 2020 [1929]
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From the publisher:
“The ultimate expression of intergenerational literary wisdom.” —Andrew Solomon, The New Yorker
A work that has inspired generations, this new edition of Letters to a Young Poet features a fresh translation of Rilke’s ten classic letters, along with the missing letters from the young poet himself.
For nearly a century, eager writers and young poets, as well as those simply looking for a purpose in life, have embraced the wisdom of Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet, first published in 1929. Most readers and scholars have long assumed that the letters from the young poet were forever lost to posterity. Yet, shockingly, these letters were recently uncovered in Germany, and now the acclaimed translator Damion Searls has not only cast a fresh eye on Rilke’s original letters but also those of the “young poet,” Franz Xaver Kappus, an Austrian military cadet and an aspiring poet. This timeless edition, in addition to presenting their dialogue together for the first time in English, provides a new window into the workings of Rilke’s visionary poetic and philosophical mind, allowing us to reexperience the literary genius of one of the most inspiring works of twentieth-century literature.
About the author:
Rainer Maria Rilke
(1875–1926), the author of the Duino Elegies and Sonnets to Orpheus, was one of the greatest poets of the German language.
Franz Xaver Kappus
(1883–1966) was an Austrian military officer, journalist, and poet.
Damion Searls
Damion Searls, the recipient of Guggenheim, NEA, and Cullman Center fellowships, has translated the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, Marcel Proust, and six Nobel Prize winners, as well as two other books by Rilke. He is also the author of The Inkblots: Hermann Rorschach, His Iconic Test, and the Power of Seeing and The Philosophy of Translation (forthcoming).
(Credits: Book cover image and publisher’s description have been retrieved from BiblioShare.)
Buy this book from independent bookstores or those who support them:
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