A bilingual edition, edited and translated by michael hamburger new york. Widely regarded as one of the greatest poets of the 20th century, celan gave voice to the poets desire to communicate. Celans own reading of the poem, preserved on record, emphasized its relentless rhythm, an effect achieved by repetition, alliteration, and a dancelike beat that reinforces the grotesque musical imagery of a poem originally published in romanian. Todesfuge is anthologized po burst of lyric critical discussio of the. It is among celans most wellknown and oftenanthologized poems. Unterrichtseinheit zu paul celans todesfuge dafforum. But theres nothing like celan reading it in the original. Abstract paul celan, a germanlanguage poet born in rumania in 1920, wrote. Deathfugue hamburgers translation of man into one provides an uncomfortable answer to this question. At that time, andrew shields wrote to the book haven. It combines mysteriously compelling imagery with rhythmic variations and structural patterns that are both elusive and pronounced.
His writing exposes and illumines the wounds that nazi destructiveness left on language. Yet critical discussions of the poem indicate that an adequate understanding of the poem is still to be. Felstiner, 28, with facsimile of magazine appearance, 29. Celan was born in romania to germanspeaking jewish parents. Paul celans experiences as a germanromanian jew during world war ii form the basis for his spare, devastating poems. Paul celan was a poet and translator born in the east european province of bukovina. It describes a group of jewish prisoners who are forced to dig mass graves. Black milk of daybreak we drink it at sundown we drink it at noon in the morning we drink it at night we drink it and drink it. Michael hamburgers english versions follow all the subtleties of the. John felstiners sensitive and accessible book is the first critical biography of celan in any language. Soon after his parents, germanspeaking jews, had perished at the hands of the nazis, celan wrote the poem todesfuge deathfugue, which depicted life in a german concentration camp.
The spatial motif is obviously the confined microcosm delineated by the holocaust universe, the physical bounds of the concentration camp, and there is a repeated longing for the open spaces of. Celan is probably alluding to the fact that many jews were cremated during the holocaust, particularly those killed in the infamous gas chambers. Paul celan was the most commonlyused pseudonym of paul antschel, born into a germanspeaking jewish family in cernau. Paul celan, john felstiner, and the soul of beauty the. Unterrichtseinheit zu paul celans todesfuge dafforum 2. Like those books, the subject matter of the poem is the experience of life in the nazi concentration camps. November 1920 als einziges kind deutschsprachiger juden in czernowitz bukowina geboren. The poet paul celan, was born paul antschel in 1920, to. His mother and father died in nazi death camps and celan was a concentration camp prisoner himself for eighteen months before escaping to join the red army. Todesfuge translated into english as death fugue and fugue of death is a german language poem written by the romanian born poet paul celan probably around 1945 and first published in 1948. Todnautberg pierre joris, one of the premier celan scholars and translators, discusses celans poem, todnautberg. Scribd is the worlds largest social reading and publishing site. Buitengaats todesfuge van paul celan door allard schroder dbnl.
Todesfuge is celans most direct and blatant expression of his holocaust theme. Paul celan schrieb dieses gedicht, wie wir heute vermu ten, ende 1944, anfang 1945 in czernowitz oder aber wenige. Het fugamotief werkt in het gedicht op een bepaalde manier door. Paul celan was born paul antschel in czernovitz, romania, to a germanspeaking jewish family. This fugue of death exerts a macabre fascination, the fascination of the nazi death camps and the appalling disintegration of value. In the writing of paul celan even we readers who can hear poetry only dimly in german can sense the greatness of his invention. Death fugue, or todesfuge, remains celans most popular poem, although he at one time repudiated it, refusing to anthologize it further or to read it aloud. Paul celan page a new paul celan bilingual english and german web page. Todesfuge is one of the great and terrifying literary works written by survivors of the holocaust. Paul celan deathfugue black milk of daybreak we drink it at evening we drink it at midday and morning we drink it at night we drink and we drink we shovel a grave in the air there you wont lie too cramped a man lives in the house he plays with his vipers he writes he writes when it grows dark to deutschland your golden hair margareta.
There, he worked briefly as a nurse in the mental hospital. Todesfuge by paul celan with translation alices notes from. It was more convenient to just burn the bodies in huge crematoriums. Although difficult in places, the article clarifies many of celans concerns as a poet. Paul celans poem todesfuge is a strangely haunting work. The nazis didnt even want to take the time to give their victims a proper burial. It is among celan s most wellknown and oftenanthologized poems. I lived with the poem for a week in mayo recently, where i transcribed it a number of times in order to get to its music. Thomas sparr todesfuge biographie eines gedichts random house. Of all celans poems, the todesfuge has been the most discussed, anthologized, and translated. By differentiating the one from the you early in the poem, hamburger makes it even more clear in the latter parts of the poem that there is a distinction between what could happen to anyone versus what is happening to the we, the.
Zijn gedicht todesfuge inspireerde anselm kiefer 1945. Paul celans deathfugue belongs among the group of great and terrifying literary works written by survivors of the holocaust, such as night by elie wiesel and the memoirs of primo levi. Incarnations of paul celans todesfuge in the paintings of anselm. Audacious rhetorical devices in paul celans todesfuge.
These are modern english translations of holocaust poems written in german by paul celan, the pen name of paul antschel 19201970. An introduction to paul celan iowa research online. The above poem is excerpted from john felstiners biography of paul celan, paul celan, poet, survivor, jew published 2005, yale university press. Death fugue by paul celan poems academy of american poets. Paul antschel, who wrote under the pseudonym paul celan, was born in czernovitz, in romania, on november 23, 1920. John felstiner, a translation of todesfuge by paul celan.
The son of germanspeaking jews, celan grew up speaking several languages, including romanian, russian, and french. Maybe because its got the music and i love the word ample, though its not literally correct. Paul celan, europes most compelling postwar poet, was a germanspeaking, east european jew. Paul celan author of poems of paul celan goodreads. During the war celan worked in a forced labor camp for 18 months. Back in the spring of 1988, several students and i already graduated but still hanging around spent several evenings at author and translator john felstiners house, reading, translating, and discussing paul celan poems. Informationen zur historisch politischen bildung in. Some weeks ago, we discussed simone weils comment that distance is the soul of beauty. In 1938, he went to france to study medicine but returned to his hometown in 1939 to study literature and romance languages. Todesfuge paul celan by alex kiritschenko on prezi. His surname was later spelled ancel, and he eventually adopted the anagram celan as his pen name. Despite critics claiming that the lyrical finesse and aesthetic of the poem did. A poem, paul celan 19201970 once said can be a message in a bottle, sent out in thenot always hopefulbelief that, somewhere and sometime, it could wash up on land. In 1938 celan went to paris to study medicine, but returned to romania before the outbreak of world war ii.