Paul Celans pneumatisches Judentum

Book Description

This scholarly exploration examines the profound spiritual dimensions of poet Paul Celan's work through the lens of Jewish religious thought and mysticism. Lydia Koelle investigates how Celan's poetry emerges from the devastating historical reality of the Holocaust, creating a unique form of Jewish spiritual expression that she terms "pneumatic Judaism."

Rather than extracting simple theological theories from Celan's verses, Koelle traces how the poet engaged with both Jewish and Christian religious traditions to forge his spiritual perspective. She reveals Celan's poetry as desperate conversations directed toward both real and utopian dialogue partners, embodying the tension between the material and transcendent worlds.

Central to Koelle's analysis is the concept of breath as both a physical life force and spiritual medium, connecting to the Hebrew ruah and Greek pneuma. This pneumatic quality, she argues, characterizes Celan's distinctly individual approach to Jewish identity and faith. The study draws extensively on Celan's personal library, examining his marginalia and annotations in works by Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, Gershom Scholem, and other Jewish philosophers.

Particularly compelling is Koelle's exploration of how Celan embraced mystical concepts of divine self-limitation and withdrawal, ideas that emerged from grappling with God's apparent absence during the Holocaust. The book demonstrates how Celan's fractured poetic language becomes a form of theological stammering, offering insights for contemporary spiritual discourse after unimaginable tragedy.

This comprehensive academic work provides valuable perspectives for readers interested in modern poetry, Jewish mysticism, and the intersection of literature with religious experience.