Paul Celan Amsterdamer Publikationen zur Sprache und Literatur in Verbindung mit Peter Boerner, Bloomington; Hugo Dyserinck, Aachen; Ferdinand van Ingen, Amsterdam; Friedrich Maurer†, Freiburg; Oskar Reichmann, Heidelberg herausgegeben von Cola Minis† und Arend Quak 157 Paul Celan Studies in His Early Poetry Hugo Bekker Amsterdam - New York, NY 2008 Cover illustration: Edgar Jené. Der Traum vom Traume. Mit 30 Abbildungen und einer Vorbemerkung von Otto Basil. Wien, Agathon 1948. Cover design: Pier Post The paper on which this book is printed meets the requirements of "ISO 9706:1994, Information and documentation - Paper for documents - Requirements for permanence". ISBN: 978-90-420-2382-6 ©Editions Rodopi B.V., Amsterdam - New York, NY 2008 Printed in The Netherlands For Elizabeth Stephanie and Anne Sarah Acknowledgments A grateful salute is due to those whose unstinting help gave final shape to this volume. Stephanie Bekker astutely recognized the improvements the manuscript needed. Kathy Corl turned out to be a wizard when it came to compelling the computer to do her bidding. Without the aid of these two the struggles with Celan’s poetry could not have resulted in an acceptable outcome. The Suhrkamp Verlag kindly permitted the citing of the poems discussed in this volume. Contents Preface: Celan’s Early Years xi Introduction xv I: The Beginnings, Part I 1 II: The Beginnings, Part II 25 III: Poppies, Forgetfulness, Dreams, Rebels 47 IV: Things (Quasi-) Medieval 71 V: War 97 VI: The Mother Figure 121 VII: On the Way to Todesfuge 143 VIII: Poetic Devices and Their Consequences 171 Appendix: The Lithographs in Der Sand aus den Urnen 207 Abbreviations 227 Bibliography 229 Index of Names 241 Index of German Celan Poems Cited 245