Ilarie Voronca (1903–1946)

Ilarie Voronca was born Eduard Marcus in Romania to Jewish parents. He published his first book of poems in 1923. After graduating from law school in Bucharest, he worked for various insurance companies and banks and traveled on several occasions to Paris. He co-founded and wrote for the literary journals 75 HP (only one issue was ever printed) and Integral. In 1927, Voronca published a volume of poetry in Paris. Entitled Colomba after his wife Colomba Voronca, it featured two portraits drawn by Robert Delaunay. This work marked Voronca's change in style to Surrealism. He published frequently, especially after he settled in France in 1933 and began writing in the French language. Among his poetry collections were L'Apprenti fantôme (The Apprentice Ghost, 1938), Beauté de ce monde (Beauty of This World, 1940), and Arbre (Tree, 1942). He also published prose books including Lord Duveen ou l’invisible à la portée de tous (Lord Duveen, or the Invisible for All, 1941), La Confession d’une âme fausse (Confession of a False Heart, 1942), and Souvenirs de la planète Terre (Memories of the Planet Earth, 1945). Several of his works were illustrated with drawings by Brancusi, Chagall, or Brauner. Voronca became a French citizen in 1938, and participated in the French Resistance during World War II. In 1946, he visited Romania, where he was acclaimed for his writings and his anti-fascist activities. He returned to Paris and wrote a book called Manuel du parfait bonheur (Manual for Perfect Happiness), but committed suicide later that year. An edition of selected poems was published in France in 1956. It was followed 10 years later by prints of some of his never-published works.