"Paul Celan: A Life" by Anna Arno

He was born Paul Anschell in 1920, an only child. His life was framed by the place where he grew up and the tumultuous events of the mid-20^th century that destroyed his family and everything that was familiar. Yet he survived. Under the name of Paul Celan, he continued continuing to write the poetry he began in his teens, poetry full of the images of life and death.  

Previously, there’s been only one full biographical study of Celan, Paul Celan: Poet, Survivor, Jew by John Felsteiner(1936-2017), published in 1995. In 2021, writer Anna Arno published Paul Celan: A Life, and it has now been translated from Polish to English by Soren Gauger.

 

It’s an engaging, enthralling biography. Arno brings to life a man haunted by tragedy, horrendous events, and loss, and she shows how he folded it all into his poetry.

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.

Some Tuesday Readings

 

It Never Lies! – poem by Paul Freeman at Society of Classical Poets.

 

Cosmic Anger – A.E. Stallings at The Lamp.

 

A Sonnet for St. Francis – Malcolm Guite.

 

What Is the Measure of My Days? – poem by Peter Venable at Society of Classical Poets.

 

The Middle of the Story –poem by Christy Lee Barnes at Every Day Poems.