'Je stem gekust'

Abstract

In The Anxiety of Influence Harold Bloom describes how all budding poets come under the influence of a predecessor and how they subsequently have to extricate themselves from that example. Those who consider the work of Leonard Nolens in the light of this theory can identify such a process, as Paul Celan fulfills this role for Nolens. Drawing upon Bloom's concept, this article investigates the importance of the work of Celan on the poetic practice and the literary philosophy of Leonard Nolens. It discusses passaages in Nolens's poetry and poetics where Celan is actively present, as well as passages where he is suppresed or (apparently) absent but where his influence is nonetheless tangible. By reading a number of Nolens's poems, this article contributes to a better understanding of his poetics and makes his relation to Celan explicit.