A great, terrifying poem of the 20th century. The exact date of composition is unknown, it could have been written as early as 1944. It forms a denial of the much debated pronouncement of the German philosopher Adorno: "To write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric." (1949) It was for me a deep shock to read (and realize) that the 'black milk' might stand for the black smoke coming day and night out of the crematorium chimneys in the German concentration and extermination camps.
At 1:13 Celan reads "Er ruft stecht tiefer ins Erdreich ihr einen ihr andern spielt weiter zum Tanz auf ", probably to avoid the repetition 2 lines further, in other versions of the poem it reads: "Er ruft stecht tiefer ins Erdreich ihr einen ihr andern singet und spielt " (the original title of the poem was Todestango).
The four piano tones at the end of the video form the beginning of Bach's fugue in C-sharp minor. The photo shows a crematorium chimney of Auschwitz.
Paul Celan (23 November 1920 - c. 20 April 1970) was a Romanian poet and translator. He was born as Paul Antschel into a Jewish family in the former Kingdom of Romania (now Ukraine). He changed his name to 'Paul Celan'. His mother was an avid reader of German literature who insisted German be the language of the house. He became one of the major German-language poets of the post-World War II era. (Wikipedia)
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3 окт 2024
