Abstract:
The paper is a modest attempt at a careful assessment of Werner Hamacher’s version of deconstruction as a reading strategy which centers upon the idea of the afformative caesura. In order to probe the potential and the possible limits of Hamacher’s strategy, the author presents a Hamacherian reading of one of Paul Celan’s poems, titled “Mauerspruch,” a poem brimming with references to Walter Benjamin’s work. In the first part of the paper the author shows the effectiveness of Hamacherian perspective. In the second part, however, following suggestions of the poem itself, the author shows that the perspective should be extended in order to include two crucial categories: the category of the image and the category of memory. Thus, ultimately, the assessment of Werner Hamacher’s strategy results in a praise and a modest proposal of its amendment.
Keywords:
Werner Hamacher, Paul Celan, Walter Benjamin, memory, image, translation
How to cite:
Lipszyc, Adam. “Häm on the Wall: Hamacher, Celan, and Two Simple Questions.” Eidos. A Journal for Philosophy of Culture 7, no. 2 (2023): 93-102. https://doi.org/10.14394/eidos.jpc.2023.0017.
Author:
Adam Lipszyc
Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences
72 Nowy Świat Street, 00-330 Warsaw, Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6425-7812
adamlipszyc@gmail.com
References:
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