The Dark Interval

Letters on Loss, Grief, and Transformation. 

Drawn from Rainer Maria Rilke’s vast body of previously untranslated letters to grieving friends and acquaintances, The Dark Interval offers a profound exploration of mourning and a deeply humane meditation on death’s place in our lives. Modeled on the structure of Letters to a Young Poet, the book presents these letters as a continuous sequence, allowing readers to encounter the full breadth of Rilke’s reflections on death and dying, alongside his quietly powerful words of consolation and compassion.

Carefully curated and translated by Ulrich Baer, The Dark Interval is both a literary landmark and a source of solace — an essential companion for anyone seeking meaning, comfort, and understanding in the midst of loss.