Review

Author(s): Jennifer Bjornstad

Review by: Jennifer Bjornstad
Source: Monatshefte, Vol. 94, No. 2 (Summer, 2002), p. 267
Published by: University of Wisconsin Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30154053
Accessed: 01-01-2016 14:29 UTC

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Book Reviews 267

Ethics and Remembrancein the Poetry of Nelly Sachs and Rose Auslinder.
By Kathrin M. Bower. Rochester, N. Y: Camden House, 2000. x + 280 pages. $55.00.
Withthis study,KathrinBowerjoins scholarssuchas SaulFriedlkinder andLawrence
Langerin exploringthe ethicalissues surroundingthe literaryrepresentation of the
Holocaust.Ratherthanaddressingthebroadquestionof Holocaustpoetry'smoralap-
propriateness,however,she raises a set of questionsmore directlyconnectedto the
textsthemselves:Whatethicalquestionsdo the poemspose?How do SachsandAus-
linder addressissues of guilt andresponsibility?What,ultimately,is the reader'srole
in the dialogicprocessbetweenpoet,reader,andpoem?
The introductionto the studylays out the organizingquestionsregardingthe
ethicsof remembrance,addressesthe strengthsandweaknessesof a comparativeap-
proach,andpresentsa wide rangeof issues thatarecentralto the mainchaptersthat
follow. In the fourcentralchapters,"MourningDeath/BearingWitness,""Searching
for the Mother,""Memoryand Transformation," and "Tracksand Traces,"Bower
takesup the variousissues presentedin the introduction,using close readingsof po-
ems by Sachs andAuslanderto interpretthe poems,illustratethe topics at hand,and
contributeto her overalltheme.
The firstchapterreflectson the complexityof the poet'srole as witness,as one
who not only bringsnews of the tragedybut feels herselfin some way complicitin it
throughthe universalconditionof guilt. The secondchapteris organizedaroundthe
ideaof themother,analyzingin somedepththe importanceof Sachs'sandAuslinder's
relationshipswith theirmothers,theirsharedturningawayfromthe fatherfigureof
traditionalreligiousbeliefs, andthe key image of the motheras it is connectedwith
notionsof nature(especiallythe sea), refuge,homeland,procreation,andthe mother
tongue.The thirdchapterjuxtaposeshistoriography andpoetic remembrance andde-
tails the way Sachs'sand Auslander'spoems show the diversityof historicalexperi-
ence. The fourthchapterfocuseson poetic languageas a way of controllingthe traces
of the pastandthe essentialpairingof poet agent/poemwitnessas mirroredin similar
dualrelationshipsof mother/child,German/Jew,andSelf/Other.
Bower managesto cover a truly impressivearrayof issues in this study.Her
workhas many strongpoints:the poetic interpretations are thoroughand insightful,
the carefuldifferentiationbetweenthe two poets despitethe tightcomparativeframe-
workis admirable,andthe strongtextualbasisof heranalysisis effective.Theprimary
weaknessof the study,however,lies in the veryrichnessof its scope.Themajorissues
discussedin the fourmainchapters,while not,forthe mostpart,unrelatedto the over-
archingtopicof ethics,areonly tenuouslytied to the argumentpresentedin the intro-
duction.The intriguingethicalissues raisedat the onset of the studyreappearin the
brief conclusion,but make only perfunctoryappearancesthroughoutthe rest of the
book. In the end, however,the strengthsof this volumeoutweighthe weaknessof its
generallack of attentionto the overallargument.Bower'sstudyis well written,in-
sightful,and thoughtfullyexecuted.It is well organizedandhelpfullyindexed,with
threeseparatesectionsfor poem titles, propernamesmentionedin the text, andJew-
ish wordsor termsthatmightbe unfamiliarto the reader.Bower'sstudyis boundto
engage any readerinterestedin Holocaustliterature,issues of remembrance,or the
poetryof Nelly SachsandRose Auslander.
Valparaiso University -Jennifer Bjornstad

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