Reconstructing identity : historical, literary and philosophical contexts of B. Fundoianu's / Benjamin Fondane's works (1898-1944)

Reconstructing Identity: Historical, Literary and Philosophical Contexts of B. Fundoianu’s/Benjamin Fondane’s Works (1898-1944) attempts to present the critical essays on literature and poetic works of B. Fundoianu/Benjamin Fondane in the context of the writer's identity dilemmas. He was a Romanian Ashkenazi Jewish poet, publicist, critic, essay writer, philosopher (a disciple of Lev Shestov), playwright, theatre director and avant-garde filmmaker, still unknown to the Polish audience. For the most accurate presentation of the subject, the thesis benefits from the achievements of many related scientific disciplines: literature, cultural anthropology, history of ideas and philosophy. This book includes an extensive Introduction, three basic chapters (In Search of Artistic Maturity. Romanian Stages of the Work of B. Fundoianu, Zeitgeist. Some Inspirations Behind Fondane’s Work and Fondane’s Mature Works: Existentially Oriented Poetry and Essays on Baudelaire) and a brief Conclusion. The aim of the thesis is to exceed the frames of a traditionally understood monograph, thus Fundoianu/Fondane’s text is often considered as a pretext to discuss the most important cultural issues of the time. Contextualization of the author’s works reveals the mechanisms that influenced the dynamics of his writing. The book is provided with an annexe which contains six important Fundoianu/Fondane’s essays from the Romanian period that have been analyzed.