Background:"Letters to a Young Poet" is a very short book first published in 1929. The book is comprised of ten letters written by Rainer Maria Rilke, a Bohemian-Austrian poet who died in 1926 from leukemia at the age of 51.The letters in the book were written from 1903 to 1908, as Rainer reached his 30's, and were from a series of correspondence between himself and another Austrian named Franz Kappus, a 19-year-old aspiring poet studying as a cadet at a military academy, who had written to Rainer for advice about poetry, the direction of his life, love, and other things.The letters from Rainer were published posthumously by Franz, who did not include his own letters to Rainer, but from Rainer's written responses you can determine what the correspondence was about. What unfolds in the letters is that Rainer takes on the role of an older brother and offers advice to Franz about poetry, art, love, and life in general.Rainer's letters to the young cadet are still some of his most famous work more than a century later, due to their eloquence and sincerity.My Opinion:I just finished reading this M.D. Herter Norton translation of Letters to a Young Poet. I had heard the actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt recommend it in an interview as his favorite book nearly two years ago and I bought it based on his description but was waiting until I had finished other books first.However, I felt compelled to skip the others and start it early and within the first few pages I just really felt a connection to him in the letters he wrote and couldn't stop reading.After a quick YouTube search looking for more information about him and reading recommendations, and after viewing a short documentary film from the year 2000 about his life, it seems quite apparent to me that Rilke suffered from bipolar disorder, a mood disorder. While I am not a psychologist or psychiatrist, I am a behavioral health advocate, former certified peer specialist in mental health conditions, and most importantly someone who has bipolar disorder type 2.I've never felt so connected to someone's words before, each verse like a mirror showing the unfiltered me to myself, like someone flinging open the windows in my room and letting in the light to both illuminate and cast shadows upon me as I search for myself through this recent phase of major depression that I've been experiencing.Like Rilke, I too become extremely productive when I experience phases of mania, and when I'm going through major depression phases, I yearn to return to mania because I feel like that's when I can do my most extensive work. But also like Rilke, I find inspiration in the heavy cloud of depression that feeds my creative outlets.Recently I've been unable to find the words to explain my current experiences and reading Rilke's letters has helped me through.Other Collections:Rilke has many other collections of poetry and prose. If you go to YouTube and use the search tool with his name you will find book recommendations and some incredibly profound readings from his works by some YouTube users that will blow you away!I have just ordered two other collections of his works: "The Poetry of Rilke" by Edward Snow which contains some of his most beloved poetry and prose, and "The Dark Interval" by Ulrich Baer which is a another collection of Rilke's letters on loss, grief, and transformation.