German lyric poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926) was born René Karl Wilhelm Johann Joseph Maria Rilke in Prague. He described his upbringing as “petit bourgeois,” lower middle class, and began his literary life at nineteen with the publication of a collection of love poems.

“The purpose of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things,” Rilke wrote, a belief reflected in the care he gave to his beautiful, expressive words.

For a time, Rilke worked as secretary to sculptor Auguste Rodin. Their friendship shaped his discipline and taught him to write with patience and attention to detail.

Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet, written between 1903 and 1908 to the young officer Franz Xavier Kappus, later became a publishing classic. The letters revealed a creative heart rooted in inspiration and motivation, offering guidance that continues to speak across generations.

“Go into yourself,” Rilke urged. “Find out the reason that commands you to write. See whether it has spread its roots into the depth of your heart. Confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write.”

He became internationally known for Duino Elegies and Sonnets to Orpheus (1923), poems that reflected on life and humanity with clarity and depth.

“We need, in love, to practice only this, letting each other go,” Rilke believed. “For holding on comes easily.” His work explored love, wisdom, growth, transformation, and death.

“Live the questions,” he urged, and he spent much of his life traveling through Europe, gathering inspiration along the way.

“We live our lives, forever taking leave.”