Celans Puppen
Paul Celanʼs Puppets

Summary/Abstract: Paul Celan’s 1960 speech, known under the title “Meridian”, was delivered on the occasion of his being awarded the prestigious Georg Büchner award. It discussed his ideas on art that lacks substance and authenticity, comparing it to the mechanical and artificial art of the puppet play. Influenced by Büchner and probably by the ironic Dada mannequins, Celan sees in the string puppet, beyond the aesthetic aspect, a symbol image of political manipulation but also the potential for revolt against the great puppeteers of history. In these roles, the poet from Bucovina’s puppets are reminiscent of the nationalist and racist propaganda in the two world wars, or of the socialist and communist propaganda through the puppet play. They convey not only images of power, obedience and mechanical beauty, but also reflect the wish and courage of liberation from aesthetic constraints, political and personal, becoming thus an important poetical and ontological metaphor in Celan’s work.

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