Cynus Posted April 23, 2016 Report Share Posted April 23, 2016 http://www.carrothers.com/rilke1.htmThese are some letters written from an accomplished writer to a young aspiring poet. There's a lot of good stuff in here, and I wanted to share it with you. Enjoy! :) Link to comment
Merkin Posted April 23, 2016 Report Share Posted April 23, 2016 There is, as Cynus has suggested, a lot of good stuff in there. However Rilke has messed up a lot of lives with just one sentence of his: 'if, as I have said, one feels one could live without writing, then one shouldn't write at all'. Link to comment
Cynus Posted April 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2016 There is, as Cynus has suggested, a lot of good stuff in there. However Rilke has messed up a lot of lives with just one sentence of his: 'if, as I have said, one feels one could live without writing, then one shouldn't write at all'. I, too, raised an eyebrow at that line, yet the way I chose to take it allowed me to let it slide. He was responding directly to a person who sent him poetry, who inquired if he should abandon his current career and pursue poetry instead. I believe Rilke was responding in the context of writing as a career, and I think he meant that if you don't feel writing is a necessity to your soul, you shouldn't try to make a living from it, because it's a difficult place to make a living, and without having the burning passion to back it up, you'll end up somewhere you don't want to be. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now