Benjamin Fondane & Paul Celan: Literature & Tragedy

Presented on the occasion of the Holocaust Remembrance Day 2026

On the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Romanian Cultural Institute presents a commemorative literary evening dedicated to the lives and works of two towering Jewish writers of Romanian origin whose voices shaped European literature in the aftermath of catastrophe.

Bringing together literature, history, and live performance, the event offers a powerful space for remembrance, reflection, and dialogue. Through scholarly insight, dramatic readings, and audience discussion, the program explores how Benjamin Fondane and Paul Celan transformed personal trauma, exile, and historical rupture into enduring works of ethical and aesthetic urgency.

The evening will open with a keynote address by Dr. Evan Parks (Columbia University), scholar of modern European and Jewish literature, who will contextualize the intellectual and historical landscapes that shaped the authors’ work, with particular attention to memory, displacement, and post-Holocaust poetics.

The program continues with public readings from selected texts by Fondane and Celan, performed by actors Cameron Darwin Bossert and Suzanne Toren. The excerpts, curated by theater director Beate Hein Bennett, highlight the enduring relevance of these writers’ voices in a world still grappling with violence, exile, and the responsibility of memory.

Join us in honoring two essential authors, victims of prejudice and violence, whose works continue to challenge, unsettle, and illuminate our understanding of history and humanity.

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Host or Publisher Romanian Cultural Institute New York