author
Tristan Tzara
1896–1963
A restless, provocative voice of the European avant-garde, he helped launch Dada and turned rebellion itself into an art form. His poems, manifestos, and performances challenged convention while leaving a lasting mark on modern literature.
1 Audiobook
Vingt-cinq poèmes
by Tristan Tzara
About the author
Born Samuel Rosenstock in Moinești, Romania, in 1896, Tristan Tzara became one of the central figures of the early 20th-century avant-garde. He is best known as a founder and leading theorist of Dada, the anti-establishment artistic movement that took shape in Zurich during World War I and pushed back against accepted ideas about art, reason, and culture.
Tzara wrote poetry, essays, manifestos, and plays, and he was also active as a journalist, critic, and performer. After his Dada years, he continued to write and remained closely involved with modern art and literature in Paris. His work helped shape the language of artistic revolt, but it also ranged beyond pure provocation into ambitious, imaginative poetry.
He spent much of his later life in France and died in Paris on December 25, 1963. Today he is remembered not only for the shock and energy of Dada, but for helping redefine what poetry and artistic expression could be in the modern age.