September Reads: Russian Lit, Letters to a Young Poet

[@Gizmocialism]

Man, I was absolutely obsessed with Letters to a Young Poet when I read it freshman year of college. I actually have a board with a few quotes on it by my desk and one is the “living the questions” quote. Great video as always dude. Nice shirt, by the way, I saw Jason last month at Ravinia in Highland Park and it was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to.

[@agwriting]

Best quote, I swear. And that sounds amazing, I've only been there once (for a Brandi Carlile show) but it's an incredible venue. Very jealous.

[@sshheell]

Rilke is great, I haven't read letters to a young poet though. This reminds me I have to haha, thanks!

[@Andyboy-s8m]

So great, I'm going to read Letters to a Young Poet now

[@booksxeunoia]

Ah! new books to add to my tbr. Although I have had letters to a young poet on there since 2020 and haven't had the opportunity to read it. Also, I want to let you know that I am currently reading white noise after watching your video and I absolutely love it 🤍

[@agwriting]

Ah that's so great to hear! White Noise is fantastic.

[@jamgart]

Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet is poetry, I thought it was one of the most beautifully written words I’ve ever written. I had to buy his poetry after reading this. I understand some seems extreme, like the ‘would you die if you weren’t writing’ part. But I understand exactly what he means, I’m an artist, and if I couldn’t be creative I think it would slowly kill a part of me that feels free.

[@agwriting]

I agree, I need to read his poetry now too. And I would tend towards that as well, feeling like I need to create -- but I think the more I write, the more I feel that, and so I guess what I'm getting at is: you don't need to abide by those extremes right now, especially if you're just starting out. I just don't want to discourage anyone, I guess.

[@Whoisjohn.D]

Check out Charles Bukowski's thoughts on writing

[@saintdonoghue]

Working for a literary review, did you say? Steve is intrigued! What kind of journal? What kind of work?

[@agwriting]

Haha! I'm a fiction editor for the magazine published by the creative writing department at my university. It's a ton of fun

[@TheActiveMind1]

Lermontov's Hero of Our Time is definitely a bit of a odd one to piece together and shines in moments. I wonder how much is missed in translation. I haven't read Eugene Onegin yet (but plan to soon), but I think you'd maybe enjoy Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov better than Lermontov. It's another book that deals with that 'superfluous man' and satirizes the personas of the time period. Just found your channel and enjoy the content!

[@agwriting]

Appreciate the recommendation! I'll have to check that out. And I definitely agree that Hero of Our Time shines in certain parts. Glad you like the videos!

[@theowarner]

Ah, Rilke... 😀

[@evaaa8355]

I added Letters to a young poet to my To read list the moment you mentioned the "live the questions now" quote, for some reason it really touched me... Great video! I personally do not mind longer videos, I think if we are here, it just means we like hearing people talk about books and their thoughts on them!

[@agwriting]

Very good point. I think I emphasize the videos being too long too often. Probably just nervous when I'm filming. Glad you liked it though!

[@mariajade3750]

Couple notes from a Russian on “Hero of our time”. He’s not PeKorin, its PeCHorin (like ch-air)😭 Also I think the title translation is very misleading. It’s more like a “character of our time/portrait of our time”. Pechorin’s character is very typical for young man of that time (going to Caucasian war to seek glory, choosing meaningless duels (again) for glory and pride, being fatalists). I think the main problem with understanding the book is that its more society driven, rather then plot driven book. Lermontov writes about his time and his peers by describing Pechorin’s character (by Maxym Maxymych’s POV, narrator’s and Pechorin’s). So the plot and storyline don’t matter that much. So to really get it you need more context on Russian Empire’s society and Caucasian War. Hope it helped a bit😅

[@mariajade3750]

Side note: Your remarks were very interesting! Hope to see more videos like this:)

[@agwriting]

Thanks for the tips haha. I'm definitely no expert although I should probably have pronounced Pechorin the way it looks. Sometimes you just read things one way in your head and start saying them like that. But your points make sense, I definitely understood the book better after my lectures, which gave more context surrounding Russia at the time. Glad you liked the video though, let me know if I miss anything next time!

[@Scott-md9nx]

idk man, I just don't understand the buzz that people get from Letters to a Young Poet. I genuinely just disliked most of the book and didn't find a lot of the advice necessarily new or perspective altering. Maybe this is because I read it with no background or interest in Rilke but it felt like, as was said in the video, "a self help book", it just left the same sour taste in my mouth as The Alchemist, underwhelming for me

[@agwriting]

I can see how it could be read that way. I don't agree obviously, but there definitely is that aspect and not everyone's going to enjoy every book anyway. I haven't read The Alchemist, but I have heard from a few people who didn't enjoy it all that much, like yourself.