Language:
English
Year of publication:
1999
Titel der Quelle:
Political Studies
Angaben zur Quelle:
47,4 (1999) 661-676
Keywords:
Celan, Paul
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945), in literature
Abstract:
The abstract poetry of Paul Celan can help us find solutions to political and social dilemmas. After World War II the German language was strongly associated with the horrors of Nazi Germany. Celan's poetry, especially "Todesfuge" (1952), helped Germans relate to the human dimension of the Holocaust. In the wake of the poem's great influence in postwar Germany, Celan turned toward a less explicit style, exemplified by "Engführung" (1958). Poetry, especially that of Celan, is characterized as "a radical linguistic form of dissent" that should be taken seriously by social scientists. It is political because it determines the way we understand the world, including political reality.
DOI:
10.1111/1467-9248.00223
URL:
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