Über lyrische Sprache, Gedenken und historische Erfahrung: Paul Celan, gelesen mit José F.A. Oliver

Paul Celan is a central figure in the work of José F.A. Oliver, a multilingual poet who emerged from the context of the so-called migration literature. This article shows the extent to which Celan stands for Oliver’s development into a self-reflexive poet who examines the possibilities of contemporary poetry and memory within the poem itself. For Oliver, the poem results from a process of condensation, a reflective and inward movement. At the same time, however, his “extensive” poetry integrates various places and languages. Celan’s role within this field of tension—in fernlautmetz (2000) and fahrtenschreiber (2010), for instance—exceeds that of an intertextual reference. This idiosyncratic reception goes far beyond quotation and points back to an openness inherent in Celan’s work itself. The extent to which historical experience and memory are transferable in the poem is an issue that Oliver also tackles on a meta-lyrical level.Footnote1