Fidel Martínez - Todesfuge. Das Leben des Dichters Paul Celan

The Spanish graphic artist Fidel Martínez Nadal's (b. Seville, 1979) graphic novel Todesfuge recounts the life of Paul Celan (1920-1970), one of the most eminent lyric poets of the twentieth century. The narrative interweaves biographical and literary aspects of Celan's life, including his Jewish identity, his lifelong trauma as a Holocaust survivor, and his acclaimed poem Todesfuge. Martínez's expressive and somber illustrations visualize Celan's struggles with feelings of guilt, memory, and his creative efforts to find words for the unspeakable. An artistically brilliant homage to Paul Celan's oeuvre, Todesfuge is an impressive contribution to the engagement with the Shoah in the medium of the graphic novel pioneered by Art Spiegelman.