Rilke's association with Rodin in 1902 inspired in him a new poetic method. 'Somehow, ' he wrote, 'I too must come to make things... realities that emerge from handiwork. Somehow I too must discover the smallest basic element, the cell of my art, the tangible immaterial means of representation for everything.' Until this work, Rilke's voice had come from the interior, expressing feelings and moods. New Poems represented a turning point, an intoxication with the materiality of the world.