Snow Part

About this book

Celans poems resist straightforward exegesis. They are not linear progressions moving from word to word from point A to point B. Rather they present themselves to a reader as intricate networks of semantic densities. Intentional puns oblique personal references intentional misquotations bizarre neologisms: these are the sinews that bind Celans poems together. It is not possible to keep up with him to follow his drift at every step along the way. One is guided more by a sense of tone and intention than by textual scrutiny. Celan does not speak explicitly but he never fails to make himself clear. There is nothing random in his work no gratuitous elements to obscure the perception of the poem. One reads with ones skin as if by osmosis unconsciously absorbing nuances overtones syntactical twists which in themselves are as much the meaning of the poem as its analytic content.