From 1902 to 1908, the poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote letters to another aspiring poet by the name of Franz Kappus. These short, 10 letters comprise “Letters to a Young Poet,” and reveal a textured mentor/mentee relationship between the two. Rilke writes a lot about the “aloneness,” and how realizing true Love is accompanied by solitude and periods of reflection. He also addresses the challenges that come with being a young creative and how to answer the calling. When I was younger, I read this book as Kappus. Today, I see it from Rilke’s perspective. Both vantage points are necessary to appreciate the whole truth here. It’s amazing to me that more than a hundred years ago, artistic youth were wrestling with the same questions and dilemmas. We are not very alone after all.