BENJAMIN FONDANE

'Benjamin Fondane' (November 14 1898, Iaşi—October 2 or 3 1944, Auschwitz-Birkenau) was a Romanian and French poet, playwright, literary critic (noted for his works on Lev Shestov's vision and on that of Søren Kierkegaard), film director, and translator.

Contents

Biography

External links

Biography

Born as 'Benjamin Wechsler' or 'Wexler' to a family of Jewish heritage, he published poetry since 1912 under the pen name of 'B. Fundoianu' or 'Barbu Fundoianu' (he is still known by them in Romania) in such magazines as ''Rampa'' and ''Hatikvah''. In 1918, he authored the drama ''Tăgăduinţa lui Petru''.
After unfinished law studies at the University of Iaşi, he quit the city for Bucharest in 1919, and became the center of an avantgarde group which also included Marcel Iancu, M. H. Maxy, Iosif Ross, Saşa Pană, Ion Vinea, Ştefan Roll and Ilarie Voronca. He published frequently in major periodicals such as ''Contimporanul'', ''Adevărul literar şi artistic'', and ''Sburătorul'', and formed a short-lived (1921-1923) theatrical company named ''Insula'' ("The Island"), influenced by the views of Jacques Copeau.
After moving to Paris in 1923, Fondane wrote his first French language poem, ''Exercice de français'', in 1925. He met Tristan Tzara in 1927, interviewing him for the ''Integral'' magazine (for which he was the French-section editor), and affiliated himself with Surrealism, publishing notable poems, such as ''A Madame Sonia Delaunay'', part of his unfinished ''Projet Ulysse 1927''. He then adhered to the subgroup around Arthur Adamov and his ''Discontinuité'' paper. Fondane became close to such figures as Shestov, Martin Buber, Constantin Brancusi, and Victoria Ocampo (whom he visited in Argentina in 1929).
In 1933, he worked with Dimitri Kirsanov on the experimental film ''Rapt'', a free screen adaptation of ''La séparation des races'', the novel by Charles Ferdinand Ramuz. He wrote and directed the Argentinian film ''Tararira'' in 1936.
In 1940, Fondane was drafted upon Nazi Germany's invasion of France. Taken prisoner, managing to escape, and recaptured, he was hospitalized at the Val de Grâce for an appendicectomy. After regaining his house, Fondane started work on ''Projet Ulysse'' and several essays.
In March 1944, he was arrested by Vichy France policemen and held in the Drancy camp, until being deported to Auschwitz on May 30. He was killed in the infamous gas chamber.

External links

★ The B. Fondane Association


★ Article by Michael Weingrad

★ Biography at Éditions Verdier

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