The limits (if any) of Holocaust discourse

Abstract

Despite Adorno’s famous 1949 proclamation that to write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric, poets nevertheless do so continually. Even so, some Holocaust topics, and even language, remain tacitly forbidden. This essay examines taboos of Holocaust linguistic discourse and highlights several contemporary American poets who did not themselves directly experience Holocaust trauma — Sylvia Plath, Sharon Olds, Myra Sklarew, and the more radically experimental Irena Klepfisz — but who use Holocaust topics and imagery for their moral and narrative power. Despite controversy, then, these poets (deliberately, or sometimes unwittingly) stretch the limits of commonly-held linguistic parameters and are creating a new Holocaust discourse.