20th Century
A01=Paul Celan
Author_Paul Celan
Category=DNL
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Essays
European
German
Literary
Prose
Speeches
Translation
War
War writings
Product details
- ISBN 9781800175402
- Dimensions: 135 x 216mm
- Publication Date: 26 Feb 2026
- Publisher: Carcanet Press Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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Paul Celan (1920–70) stands as one of the greatest post-war European poets, a writer whose painful struggle with the possibilities and limitations of German, his native language, has helped to define the response of poetry in the aftermath of the Holocaust.
Celan’s prose is as thought-provoking as, and less familiar than, his poetry. The writings and aphorisms on poetry and art illuminate the sources of his language: he explores the condition of being a stranger in the world, the necessity – and limitation – of discourse, enlarging our understanding of the poet and his vocation. A spare and reluctant prose writer, Celan speaks with a quiet authority that insists on the centrality of poetry in the modern world.
Rosmarie Waldrop’s translation remains true to the poetic rhythms of Celan’s prose; her introduction sets the pieces in context.
Celan’s prose is as thought-provoking as, and less familiar than, his poetry. The writings and aphorisms on poetry and art illuminate the sources of his language: he explores the condition of being a stranger in the world, the necessity – and limitation – of discourse, enlarging our understanding of the poet and his vocation. A spare and reluctant prose writer, Celan speaks with a quiet authority that insists on the centrality of poetry in the modern world.
Rosmarie Waldrop’s translation remains true to the poetic rhythms of Celan’s prose; her introduction sets the pieces in context.
Paul Celan (1920-1970) was born Paul Antschel into a
Jewish family in Bukovina, a German enclave in Romania which was
destroyed by the Nazis. His parents were taken to a concentration camp
in 1942, and did not return; Celan managed to escape deportation and to
survive. After settling in Paris in 1948, he gained widespread
recognition as a poet with the publication of his first collection of
poems in German in 1952. His earliest poems were written in Romanian and
have been translated by, among others, his friend Nina Cassian. He was a
fine translator of poetry, mainly from French, English, Russian and
Romanian. His mysterious meeting with Martin Heidegger was the subject
of a radio play by John Banville.
