John Felstiner (July 2, 1937 – February 24, 2019) was an American literary critic, translator, and academic, best known for his scholarly work and translations of the German-language poet Paul Celan. He was a long-serving professor of English at Stanford University.
Early Life and Education
Born in Mount Vernon, New York, Felstiner attended Harvard University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree and later a Ph.D. in English. His early academic interests focused on modern poetry and the intersection of literature with history and culture.
Career
Felstiner joined the faculty of Stanford University in 1966, where he remained for over four decades until his retirement in 2009, becoming a Professor of English Emeritus. Throughout his career, his research and teaching interests spanned modern American, British, and European poetry, with a particular focus on the challenges of translation and the literature of the Holocaust.
He became internationally renowned for his meticulous scholarship and translations, particularly of Paul Celan. His seminal work, Paul Celan: Poet, Survivor, Jew (1995), is considered the definitive biography of the poet and a profound exploration of Celan's life and work in the context of the Holocaust and Jewish identity. The book was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Felstiner also translated Celan's poetry extensively, including Selected Poems and Prose of Paul Celan (2001).
Beyond Celan, Felstiner was also a significant translator and scholar of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, notably with his work Translating Neruda: The Way to Macchu Picchu (1980). His later work, Can Poetry Save the Earth?: A Field Guide to Nature Poems (2009), explored environmental themes in poetry and the role of literature in ecological awareness.
Legacy
John Felstiner's contributions significantly deepened the understanding of Paul Celan's complex poetry and life, bringing his work to a wider English-speaking audience. His scholarship on translation theory and practice, the literature of witness, and the intersection of poetry with historical trauma and environmental concerns left a lasting impact on literary studies. He was a recipient of numerous honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Selected Works
- The Lies of Art: Max Beerbohm’s Parody and Caricature (1972)
- Translating Neruda: The Way to Macchu Picchu (1980)
- Paul Celan: Poet, Survivor, Jew (1995)
- Selected Poems and Prose of Paul Celan (translator and editor) (2001)
- Can Poetry Save the Earth?: A Field Guide to Nature Poems (2009)