Letters to a Young Poet is a collection of letters that Rainer Maria Rilke wrote to Franz Xaver Kappus over a short number of years. This latest clothbound edition from Penguin was published February 23rd and translated by Charlie Louth.

Letters to a Young Poet was first published in 1929, with a Letter from a Young Worker originally published in 1933. This volume also contains the ‘Letter from a Young Worker’, a striking polemic against Christianity written too in letter form. Over the course of six years, Maria Rilke wrote a series of letters to a young officer cadet, advising him on writing, love, suffering and the nature of advice itself these profound and lyrical letters have since become hugely influential for writers and artists of all kinds. Beautifully designed and printed, these collectible editions are bound in colourful, tactile cloth and stamped with foil.‘ Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke Celebrating the range and diversity of Penguin Classics, they take us from snowy Japan to springtime Vienna, from haunted New England to a sun-drenched Mediterranean island, and from a game of chess on the ocean to a love story on the moon. Penguin’s Little Clothbound Classics are described as ‘irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world’s greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. Both authors are very familiar names to me but I had never read the work of either, so this was a wonderful opportunity to experience the words of these world-renowned writers. I was so thrilled to be sent two of these absolutely perfect little books courtesy of Penguin UK – Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke and Moonlight by Guy de Maupassant. Little Clothbound Classics are collectable, small format editions of short stories, novellas and essays that celebrate the range of the Penguin Classics list.

Kappus rilke