I felt so nosey reading all their private letters and thoughts lol.

It was like an irresistible temptation that pulled me in. As I delved into those words, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. But at the same time, the curiosity was overwhelming. I wanted to know what was going on in their minds, what secrets they were hiding.

Each letter seemed to unfold a new chapter of their lives, and I was eager to devour every detail. It was a strange mix of excitement and unease. I knew I shouldn't be doing this, but I just couldn't stop.

Maybe it was the human nature to be nosy, to窥探 into the lives of others. But as I continued reading, I also started to realize the importance of privacy. These were their personal thoughts and feelings, and I had no right to invade them.

In the end, I put the letters back, feeling a sense of relief and a newfound respect for their privacy.

What are we to make of these letters exchanged by three of the greatest poets of the 20th century in that glorious summer of 1926?

Immediately, the heartfelt nature of the letters might put a sour taste in the mouths of some readers. The rapturous expressions could seem excessive to many, as if the poets were vying with each other for the beauty of their words.

Tsvetaeva, in exile in France and cut off from her homeland, sounds desperate and needy. She directs the exchanges, almost as if she wants to possess the great German poet, Rilke.

Rilke, on the other hand, is cooler in the exchange. He can't quite match Tsvetaeva's overwhelming enthusiasm, perhaps because he knows he is dying.

Pasternak, in Russia amidst enormous turmoil, is full of anxiety and foreboding. His exchanges carry a touch of melancholy and worry.

For those interested in poetry, especially these poets, there is much to marvel at in these letters. Their passionate exchanges reveal their longing to hold onto the idea of the necessity of poetry in a world that is being shaken all around them.

It is a fascinating glimpse into the minds and hearts of three literary giants, and a testament to the power of words even in the face of great adversity.

Letters is a charming yet sometimes petulant compilation of correspondence among Rilke, Tsvetayaeva, and Pasternak.

These individuals, though scattered across the expanse of Allah's creation, belonged to the same lyrical tribe. Marina T, residing in Paris, declared herself as German and超脱 social trappings. She desired to live within Rilke's poetry, perhaps due to a favorable tax code for its inhabitants and waived administrative fees.

Rilke was in the final stage of his life, privately fading away while still penning remarkable letters. Poor Boris P, on the other hand, was the cover boy for all the Russian fanzines. He couldn't hold his kvass and impulsively said several things that would later haunt him.

The three embarked on a season-long series of letters, lauding one another, proclaiming their need for each other, and often engaging in heated diatribes about why they couldn't live together. Then, Boris and Marina reviewed each other's work, and everything went awry.

Subsequently, Rilke passed away, and the remaining two spent the rest of their often-miserable lives pondering the significance of their non-meeting.

The letters themselves are truly fascinating. They hold great historical significance, which makes them all the more captivating. Additionally, the ornate prose in which they are written is a delight to behold. Tsvetaeva and Rilke are undoubtedly masters of the written word. Pasternak, of course, also has his own charm, although his letters sometimes come across as more whiny than poetic.

However, I did have a major problem with the layout and editing of this collection. It is extremely difficult to follow large portions of the book because it lacks the very poems that the poets are describing. This omission makes it hard for the reader to fully understand and appreciate the context and nuances of their discussions.

An updated volume of this book would be wonderful if it included an index at the back, listing the major poems mentioned. Without such an index, reading page after page of minute details about a Russian poem, which is further distanced from the reader by the translation into English, seems rather pointless. Nevertheless, this book did succeed in piquing my interest in Rilke, and I now have a desire to explore his works further.

The most beautiful letters are like precious treasures that hold within them so much soul, exile, and love.

They are a medium through which emotions are poured out, hearts are bared, and stories are told. Each letter is a unique piece of art, carefully crafted with words that carry the weight of the writer's deepest feelings.

Whether it is a love letter expressing undying affection, a letter of exile filled with longing and homesickness, or a letter that simply shares the essence of one's soul, they all have the power to touch and move us.

The beauty of these letters lies not only in the words themselves but also in the context in which they were written. They are a snapshot of a moment in time, a record of a person's journey through life.

They can transport us to another place and time, allowing us to experience the emotions and experiences of the writer as if they were our own.

In a world where communication has become so instant and impersonal, the beauty of handwritten letters is often overlooked. But it is in these letters that we can find the true essence of human connection and the power of words to convey the most profound of emotions.

So the next time you receive a letter, take a moment to appreciate its beauty and the soul, exile, and love that it contains.

Heartbreaking and poignant,

the letters exchanged between Marina Tsvetaeva, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Boris Pasternak offer a remarkable insight into the power of the written word during extraordinarily difficult circumstances. Tsvetaeva, living in exile in France, Pasternak, barely getting by in Moscow, and Rilke, slowly succumbing to illness in the Swiss countryside.

Their emotive and passionate correspondences vividly depict the evolution of their poetic ideas, which would stay with Tsvetaeva and Pasternak throughout their entire lives. Without this creative collaboration among the three (neither Tsvetaeva nor Pasternak would ever have the opportunity to meet Rilke in adulthood), the significant poems from this era simply would not have come into existence. Tsvetaeva and Rilke's profound ruminations on the purpose of the poet are particularly moving, making this collection of letters both timely and beautiful.

This book has been sitting on my shelf, patiently waiting to be read, as if it were calling my name, for several months now.

When it first came into my possession, I made a firm decision that it had to be read during the months of late spring or summer. This was because that was the time when this triangular correspondence took place.

One day recently, as I was out and about, I found myself wondering which book to read next. Suddenly, I noticed a penny on the ground. Remembering the old saying "see a penny, pick it up - all day long, you’ll have good luck!", I bent down to pick it up.

Since I was a small child, I have had a love for collecting older coins. The penny had landed on tails when it reached the ground. Although I have heard that it is strictly heads-up pennies that will bring good luck when picked up, the tails side showed me that this was an older penny. Older pennies do not display the Lincoln Memorial on the tails side, so I already felt a sense of luck. I flipped it over to see what year it came into circulation: 1926.

Immediately, I thought of this book and believed it to be an omen that I absolutely had to read it next. So, I did.

It was truly enchanting to witness these three poets falling in love through letters, poems, and the like. What fascinated me perhaps the most was the fact that they never met face-to-face, yet they came to know each other deeply despite this. In a letter to Pasternak, Tsvetayeva concludes: "It is as if I had seen you yesterday.”

This volume of letters has further solidified my already-strong belief that there is something incredibly intimate and passionate about letters, the written word on paper addressed to someone. This is something that seems to have been lost in this age of email, text, snapbookfaceinstachatagram.

Marina Tsvetaeva was a truly brilliant Romantic poet who resided in the Soviet Union during the early 20th Century.

Her letters to Rilke and Pasternak in the Summer of 1926 were simply transcendent. Rilke, with his equal poetic grace, seemed to be on the same wavelength as Tsvetaeva. However, Pasternak had a more difficult time keeping up. To be honest, he spent a significant amount of his time whining, even though among the three of them, he had the least legitimate reasons to complain.

Each of these poets was a tempestuous soul. Rilke and Tsvetaeva truly appeared to speak their own unique second language. Nevertheless, all three of them recognized one another as kindred spirits. They quickly fell in love with each other, despite never having met in person.

Finally, their letters vividly illustrate how much and yet how little has changed in the way we communicate with our soul mates. The three poets exchanged photographs, the poems they had written, and news about each other. They also talked about crossing paths or meeting up one day, much like modern-day Facebook friends. Their correspondence serves as a fascinating window into the past and a reminder of the timeless nature of human connection.

Surely it might be interesting for those who conduct research on authors, or for snobbish romantics... Personally, I really struggled. There was just too much romantic-literary mystique (and also extremely elitist and misogynistic) for my taste.

Perhaps for some, the allure of the romantic-literary world with its air of mystery and exclusivity holds great appeal. But for me, it felt overwhelming and off-putting. The excessive emphasis on a certain kind of romanticism that seemed to border on the pretentious, along with the elitist and misogynistic undertones, made it a difficult experience.

I found myself constantly at odds with the ideas and attitudes presented, unable to fully embrace the supposed charm. It made me question whether this was really the kind of literature and literary culture that I wanted to engage with. While I can appreciate the efforts of those who are drawn to it, it simply didn't resonate with me on a personal level.