Paul Celan quotes

Paul Celan was a Romanian-born poet and translator, considered one of the greatest German-language poets of the post-World War II era. His poetry is marked by themes of trauma, loss, and the challenge of expressing the horrors of the Holocaust. He remains profoundly influential in literary circles for his innovative language and emotional depth. Here are 17 of his quotes:

Only truthful hands write true poems. I cannot see any basic difference between a handshake and a poem.

Paul Celan

There was earth inside them, and they dug.

Paul Celan

Don't sign your name between worlds, surmount the manifold of meanings, trust the tearstain, learn to live.

Paul Celan

Spring: trees flying up to their birds.

Paul Celan

who is invisible enough to see you.

Paul Celan

Only one thing remained reachable, close and secure amid all losses: language. Yes, language. In spite of everything, it remained secure against loss.

Paul Celan

How you die out in me: down to the last worn-out knot of breath you're there, with a splinter of life.

Paul Celan

you're rowing by wordlight.

Paul Celan

We stand by the window embracing, and people look up from the street: it is time they knew! It is time the stone made an effort to flower, time unrest had a beating heart. It is time it were time.It is time.

Paul Celan

You opened your eyes -I saw my darkness live. I see through it down to the bed; there too it is mine and lives.

Paul Celan

Aspen tree, your leaves glance white into the dark.

Paul Celan

The heart hid still in the dark, hard as the Philosopher's Stone.

Paul Celan

They've healed me to pieces.

Paul Celan

Reality is not simply there, it must be searched and won.

Paul Celan

Reality is not simply there, it does not simply exist: it must be sought out and won.

Paul Celan