"Only truthful hands write true poems. I cannot see any basic difference between a handshake and a poem"
- Paul Celan
About this Quote
This quote by Paul Celan talks to the value of reality in composing. He suggests that only those who are honest and sincere can write true poems. He further suggests that there is no fundamental difference between a handshake and a poem. A handshake is a gesture of trust and sincerity, and a poem is a form of expression that conveys the same belief. Celan is recommending that both a handshake and a poem are types of interaction that require truth and sincerity in order to be significant. He is highlighting the value of reality in writing, and recommending that without it, a poem is not genuinely a poem. Celan's quote is a suggestion that fact is necessary in all forms of communication, which without it, our words are meaningless.
This quote is written / told by Paul Celan between November 23, 1920 and April 20, 1970. He/she was a famous Poet from Romania.
The author also have 3 other quotes.
"With the question of the effect of a poem, the topic of investigation shifts from that of textual autonomy to textual reception - to the issue of what we actually look for or find in reading a poem"
"The heart of the matter seems to me to be the direct interaction between one's making a poem in English and a poem in the language that one understands and values. I don't see how you can do it otherwise"
"A revolutionary poem will not tell you who or when to kill, what and when to burn, or even how to theorize. It reminds you... where and when and how you are living and might live, it is a wick of desire"
