Like a Frog in Winter: Poetry to Make the Inconceivable Visible in Primo Levi and Charlotte Delbo

Abstract

The article addresses the question of poetry as a way of processing the experience of Auschwitz. Within this framework, a comparison is made between the use of this genre in two of the greatest exponents of concentration camp literature: Primo Levi and Charlotte Delbo. In both cases, the narration of what they experienced is presented as a necessity that requires direct engagement with the reader and confronts the difficulty of saying the unsayable. Poetry, due to its unique ability to generate images and arouse emotions, reveals itself as an indispensable form of expression. While bearing witness implies a commitment to clarity and reality, it cannot be denied that life in the Lager seems also hallucinatory and unbelievable. Due to its proximity to the oneiric, poetry can harbour light and shadow, the affirmation of the self and the splitting into another; an opening from the most intimate that is necessary to engage and shake the reader. In terms of methodology, the work has been carried out on the Italian and French originals, with my own translation of the verses.