Benjamin Fondane

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Benjamin Fondane : biography

November 14, 1898 – October 2, 1944

Move to France

In 1923, Benjamin Fondane eventually left Romania for France, spurred on by the need to prove himself within a different cultural context.Cernat, p. 36–37, 211, 408–409; Daniel, p. 598; Răileanu & Carassou, p. 13, 131–132; Tomescu (2005), p. 228–229; (2006), p. 121, 123 Constantin Pricop, , in România Literară, Nr. 27/2004 He was at the time interested in the success of Dada, an avant-garde movement launched abroad by the Romanian-born author Tristan Tzara, in collaboration with several others.Răileanu & Carassou, p. 14–15, 137–139 Not dissuaded by the fact that his sister and brother-in-law (the Pascals) had returned impoverished from an extended stay in Paris, Fondane crossed Europe by train and partly by foot.Daniel, p. 618–620

The writer (who adopted his Francized name shortly after leaving his native country)Călinescu, p. 864; Sandqvist, p. 354 Michel Carassou, , in Observator Cultural, Nr. 410, February 2008 was eventually joined there by the Pascals. The three of them continued to lead a bohemian and at times precarious existence, discussed in Fondane’s correspondence with Romanian novelist Liviu Rebreanu,Daniel, p. 619–621, 623 and described by researcher Ana-Maria Tomescu as "humiliating poverty".Tomescu (2006), p. 122 The poet acquired some sources of income from his contacts in Romania: in exchange for his contribution to the circulation of Romanian literature in France, he received official funds from the Culture Ministry’s directorate (at the time headed by Minulescu); in addition, he published unsigned articles in various newspapers, and even relied on handouts from Romanian actress Elvira Popescu (who visited his home, as did avant-garde painter M. H. Maxy).Daniel, p. 620–623 He also translated into French Zissu’s novel Amintirile unui candelabru ("The Recollections of a Chandelier"). For a while, the poet also joined his colleague Ilarie Voronca on the legal department of L’Abeille insurance company.

After a period of renting furnished rooms, Fondane accepted an offer from Jean, brother of the deceased literary theorist Remy de Gourmont, and, employed as a librarian-concierge, moved into the Gourmonts’ museum property on Rue des Saints-Pères, some distance away from to the celebrated literary café Les Deux Magots.Daniel, p. 621–622, 624 In the six years before Pascal’s 1929 death, Fondane left Gourmont’s house and, with his sister and brother-in-law, moved into a succession of houses (on Rue Domat, Rue Jacob, Rue Monge), before settling into a historical building once inhabited by author Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (Rue Rollin, 6).Daniel, p. 624 Complaining about eye trouble and exhaustion, and several times threatened with insolvency, Fondane often left Paris for the resort of Arcachon.Daniel, p. 623–624

Claudia Millian, who was also spending time in Paris, described Fondane’s new focus on studying Christian theology and Catholic thought, from Hildebert to Gourmont’s own Latin mystique (it was also at this stage that the Romanian writer acquired and sent home part of Gourmont’s bibliophile collection).Daniel, p. 621–622 He coupled these activities with an interest in grouping together the cultural segments of the Romanian diaspora: around 1924, he and Millian were founding members of the Society of Romanian Writers in Paris, presided upon by the aristocrat Elena Văcărescu. Meanwhile, Fondane acquired a profile on the local literary scene, and, in his personal notes, claimed to have had his works praised by novelist André Gide and philosopher Jules de Gaultier. They both were his idols: Gide’s work had shaped his own contribution in the prose poem genre, while Gaultier did the same for his philosophical outlook. The self-exiled debutant was nevertheless still viewing his career with despair, describing it as languishing, and noting that there was a chance of him failing to earn a solid literary reputation.Tomescu (2005), p. 228; (2006), p. 121

Surrealist episode

The mid-1920s brought Benjamin Fondane’s affiliation with Surrealism, the post-Dada avant-garde current centered in Paris. Fondane also rallied with Belgian Surrealist composers E. L. T. Mesens and André Souris (with whom he signed a manifesto on modernist music), and supported Surrealist poet-director Antonin Artaud in his efforts to set up a theater named after Alfred Jarry (which was not, however, an all-Surrealist venue).Răileanu & Carassou, p. 136, 137, 142 In this context, he tried to persuade the French Surrealist group to tour his native country and establish contacts with local affiliates.Sandqvist, p. 217