Benjamin Fondane’s Followers (30)

Benjamin Fondane

Born

in Iași, Romania

November 14, 1898

Died

October 02, 1944

Genre

Philosophy, Poetry

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alt spelling: Benjamin Fundoianu

Benjamin Fondane or Benjamin Fundoianu; born Benjamin Wechsler, Wexler or Vecsler, first name also Beniamin or Barbu, usually abridged to B.; was a Romanian and French poet, critic and existentialist philosopher, also noted for his work in film and theater. Known from his Romanian youth as a Symbolist poet and columnist, he alternated Neoromantic and Expressionist themes with echoes from Tudor Arghezi, and dedicated several poetic cycles to the rural life of his native Moldavia. Fondane, who was of Jewish Romanian extraction and a nephew of Jewish intellectuals Elias and Moses Schwartzfeld, participated in both minority secular Jewish culture and mainstream Romanian culture. During and after World War I, he w alt spelling: Benjamin Fundoianu

Benjamin Fondane or Benjamin Fundoianu; born Benjamin Wechsler, Wexler or Vecsler, first name also Beniamin or Barbu, usually abridged to B.; was a Romanian and French poet, critic and existentialist philosopher, also noted for his work in film and theater. Known from his Romanian youth as a Symbolist poet and columnist, he alternated Neoromantic and Expressionist themes with echoes from Tudor Arghezi, and dedicated several poetic cycles to the rural life of his native Moldavia. Fondane, who was of Jewish Romanian extraction and a nephew of Jewish intellectuals Elias and Moses Schwartzfeld, participated in both minority secular Jewish culture and mainstream Romanian culture. During and after World War I, he was active as a cultural critic, avant-garde promoter and, with his brother-in-law Armand Pascal, manager of the theatrical troupe Insula.
Fondane began a second career in 1923, when he moved to Paris. Affiliated with Surrealism, but strongly opposed to its communist leanings, he moved on to become a figure in Jewish existentialism and a leading disciple of Lev Shestov. His critique of political dogma, rejection of rationalism, expectation of historical catastrophe and belief in the soteriological force of literature were outlined in his celebrated essays on Charles Baudelaire and Arthur Rimbaud, as well as in his final works of poetry. His literary and philosophical activities helped him build close relationships with other intellectuals: Shestov, Emil Cioran, David Gascoyne, Jacques Maritain, Victoria Ocampo, Ilarie Voronca etc. In parallel, Fondane also had a career in cinema: a film critic and a screenwriter for Paramount Pictures, he later worked on Rapt with Dimitri Kirsanoff, and directed the since-lost film Tararira in Argentina.
A prisoner of war during the fall of France, Fondane was released and spent the occupation years in clandestinity. He was eventually captured and handed to Nazi German authorities, who deported him to Auschwitz-Birkenau. He was sent to the gas chamber during the last wave of the Holocaust. His work was largely rediscovered later in the 20th century, when it became the subject of scholarly research and public curiosity in both France and Romania. In the latter country, this revival of interest also sparked a controversy over copyright issues. ...more

Combine Editions
Benjamin Fondane’s books

Average rating: 4.11 · 278 ratings · 38 reviews · 41 distinct works • Similar authors

	Existential Monday: Philosophical Essays (New York Review Books Classics) by Benjamin Fondane, Bruce Baugh (Editor) 4.04 avg rating — 124 ratings — published 1990 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cinepoems and Others by Benjamin Fondane, Leonard Schwartz (Editor) 4.04 avg rating — 56 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Le mal des fantômes by Benjamin Fondane, Patrice Beray (Scientific Editor), Michel Carassou (Scientific Editor) 4.38 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 1980 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ulisses by Benjamin Fondane, Diogo Paiva (Tradutor) 4.62 avg rating — 13 ratings — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Privelisti -si inedite- 4.18 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 1974 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rimbaud le voyou 3.60 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 1933 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	La conciencia desdichada 4.71 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 1936 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Exodus 4.57 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2008 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Baudelaire et l'expérience du gouffre (Le regard littéraire) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2013 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Opere I: Poezia antumă by Benjamin Fondane, Benjamin Fondane, Paul Daniel (Goodreads Author) (ed.) 4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2011	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Benjamin Fondane (?)

“Sinaia

(II)

Les montagnes font un tourbillon d'eau contre ta joue ;
tu en détaches le bouquet mouillé sur les sapins
aux genoux ployés, à la crinière de nuit,
chevaux rétifs, hennissants et captifs.
Sur les bords de l'étang aux longs cils,
je sais des rires de femmes engloutis
et des regards limpides verdis comme la terrine.
Une flamme annonce l'imminence du vide,
et le chemin cerne l'étang, comme un couteau.
Que de sang ! Le temps, le temps éclate sur le couchant ;
la forêt a ce soir la folle effervescence de la bonde.
Les cerfs ne savent rien de l'automne roux,
et dans leur sommeil, âmes de feuille aux pieds nus,
ils rêvent limiers, cors et chasseurs redoutés,
venus s'emparaient du bocage, de ses bois, de ses sabots –
et la forêt, abattue, pleure, les narines palpitantes.”
― Benjamin Fondane, Privelisti -si inedite-

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“Épitaphe

Ci-gît recouvert de poèmes
Isaac Laquedem,
un peu trop porté sur l'extrême,
enfant du vieux Sem,

ayant fait le tour de la terre,
le tour des vivants,
où tout lui parut éphémère,
et tout captivant,

bon bougre après tout –mais instable
(le mal des aïeux),
partout écrivant dans le sable
la langue des cieux.

(p.239-240)”
― Benjamin Fondane, Le mal des fantômes

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“L'HEURE DE VISITE
à Gala Galaction

Ce soir, ma tête comme une lampe
brûle les vestiges fumants de l'huile –
et quelqu'un a posé la main sur la poignée,
et quelqu'un m'effleure la joue.

En ce soir sans fin, quelqu'un
tousse en moi, crache et rend l'âme,
mais pour rien au monde je ne voudrais fuir – ni
toucher de nouveau le ciel de mes mains !

Je suis dans la chambre comme dans un train
attendant qu'un paysage brise le carreau,
et je tiens à la main mon âme solaire –
mon malheureux passeport de voyage.

Le silence qui s'est levé en moi me fait mal –
l'obscurité qui s'est levée me fait mal,
comme un sol boueux où dorment, recroquevillés,
les buffles noirs de l'inconnu.

On dirait qu'une ombre en moi a pris la fuite,
et ce soir je me sens si bien,
que j'ai presque envie d'arracher de mes mains
les orties qui ont assailli mon corps.”
― Benjamin Fondane, Privelisti -si inedite-

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