From Staged to Disguised Self-Translation: Heine and Celan in France

Heinrich Heine and Paul Celan have often been compared, mainly because of their shared Parisian exile and Jewish identity. Yet we should add another dimension to this comparison, by examining the authors' relationship to the French versions of their texts. In fact, although Heine and Celan have always considered themselves as German-speaking writers, their perfect bilingualism and active participation in French literary circles made it possible for them to exert an early and considerable influence upon their own reception in France. This particularly affected the translation of their works, which were intensely managed and controlled by both poets. However, their influence took very different forms: Heine alleged to be the author of the French version of his writings, hiding the work of the translator, whereas Celan never wanted to appear as a self-translator, even if he played a key role in the development of the French translations of his works. Thus Heine's French works appear to be staged self-translations, produced mostly by French translators, while many of the French translations of Celan are actually very close to disguised self-translation. In both cases the original connection between the author and his text is upheld and the movement of estrangement and disappropriation, inherent in translation, is impeded or even stopped.