Eduard Marcus, known under his pen name Ilarie Voronca, was born in Brăila 118 years ago. Voronca, a Jewish avant-garde poet and essayist, collaborated with some of Romania’s most famous modernist publications, including “Contimporanul,” “Integral,” and “Punct.” He edited the first and last issue of the Constructivist magazine “75 HP” with Stephan Roll and Victor Brauner.

He made his debut with the volume Restriști in 1923. In partnership with artist Victor Brauner, he devised a new form of artistic expression, the pictopoem, which is an indivisible synthesis of text and image. After moving to France in 1933, he began writing in French and published works on a regular basis, which were illustrated by famous artists such as Victor Brauner, Constantin Brâncuși, and Marc Chagall.

He was granted French citizenship in 1938, and during WWII he was a member of the Resistance. Unfortunately, while working on Handbook for Perfect Happiness in Paris in 1946, he committed suicide. A selection of his poems was published after his death.

Images sources: Artmark, Artnet, Dada Gallery