On [:] Poems | Paul Celan, 1958

1
John20Everett20Millais20A20Message20from20the20Sea
John Everett Millais, A Message from the Sea, 1884
.
“A poem, being an instance of language, hence essentially dialogue, may be a letter
in a bottle thrown out to the sea with the—surely not always strong—hope that it may
somehow wash up somewhere, perhaps on the shoreline of the heart. In this way, too,
 poems are en route: they are headed towards. Toward what? Toward something open,
inhabitable, an approachable you, perhaps, an approachable reality. Such realities are,
 I think, at stake in a poem.”
.
Paul Celan, 1958
Celan’s speech when he won the Bremen literature prize

1 thought on “On [:] Poems | Paul Celan, 1958

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *