Celan and the Heart Cry

Paul Celan's poem, `In die Ferne' tells us that the poem is not timeless, even if it lays claim to infinity. It exists finitely, like the breath. Thus, for Celan, poetry does not forget or deny one's finitude and death. Instead it is a mode of being towards death. Hence, Celan's poetry comes close to Martin Heidegger's freedom towards death, i.e. freedom to die one's own death. For Celan the task of the poet is to remind us of this fact, which is also the fundamental law of humanity. The article analyses what is the meaning and importance of this fundamental law, which is both the destiny and possibility for human beings. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.