Benjamin Fondane

Dissertation, City University of New York (1998)
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Abstract

This dissertation was written in memory of Benjamin Fondane, a poet, dramaturge, and existential thinker who produced most of his literary works in Paris. Fondane was born in lasi where he began his writing career. In Roumania, although he gained much recognition as a writer, Fondane longed for Paris and the literary milieu which he felt could enhance his writing. In 1923 Fondane moved to Paris and in 1927 he became a close friend of the noted Russian philosopher Leon Shestov. Slowly, Fondane became his disciple as his poetry began to incorporate Shestov's existential philosophy. Fondane's poetry was transformed: no longer portraying bucolic images of Moldavian pastures, his verse now gained universal insight while depicting the sorrow of the poet in exile or the agony of the Jew in Diaspora. ;In Fondane's French verse, we note his fascination with the tragic--it pertains to "a category of seriousness" which is the prime element of existential thought, explains the noted French philosopher Jean Wahl in his study Philosophies of Existence. One should not confuse "existentialism" with "existential thought", a philosophy which concerns itself mostly with the problem of existence. Fondane shared Shestov's belief that one's spirit is elevated through personal suffering. ;Fondane wrote several collections of poems: Ulysse, Titanic, L'Exode, which he published along with his philosophical essays. La Conscience malheureuse contains most of these essays. In Faux traite d'esthetique, Fondane presents his philosophy regarding poetry: he declines the importance of aesthetics in favor of the verse that dares to remain a part of life. He believes in the magic of poetic creativity, and in its incredible force as it goes beyond logic and beyond the self. The poet also presents his discontentment with Surrealism: in his opinion an alliance between Marxism and Surrealism would only bring about the loss of freedom necessary to create. ;Fondane's poetics was not in search of answers. He realized that the joy of existence consists in our continual search rather than a presumptuous explanation of the meaning of life. ;Benjamin Fondane was gassed in Auschwitz in 1944 two weeks before the camp's liberation

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