When I was in high school, an English teacher of mine told me I
had to read, Rainer Maria Rilke's, Letters to a Young Poet. Being the
typical high school student, as soon as any teacher suggested I do anything extra,
I ran as far from it as possible. However this was one teacher recommendation
that I should have listened to immediately, instead of almost two years later.
Letters to a Young Poet is a compilation of ten letters
from Rilke to a young student in the military academy in Vienna. The letters
are full of advice on topics of writing, love, solitude,
fear, doubt, criticism, and patience. Although written at the start of the 20th
century, Rilke's words are just as relevant and inspirational today–one of
those "this book was written for me" kind of feelings! Letters
to a Young Poet is a book that every young dance artist needs to own
to serve as a manual for the times when being a young artist makes you feel
lost or terrified.
The dance world will constantly throw scary, exciting,
frustrating, or disappointing situations at you that you can't seem to make
sense of or doubt you'll be able to accomplish. Letters to a Young Poet can
be your sort of poetic guidance and reassurance that, although it feels like
you are the only person who is struggling, you are not alone in
your insecurities or questions. And what better way to realize this than
through beautifully poetic letters from the 1900's? It’s so very sophisticated
of you!
I love the quote above about patience, an aspect of
being a dancer that I truly struggle with. Hearing that even, Rilke, a
successful poet of his time, struggled with trying to figure it all out at once
is so reassuring to me. His encouragement to enjoy and live in the questions,
and reassurance that possibly the unknown will become known one day, is calming and
just one of the many relatable passages that will undoubtedly benefit any young artist.
Letters to a Young Poet, by Rainer Maria Rilke; read it!
No wait, memorize it!
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