The Gas Heart

Tristan Tzara was born Samuel Rosenstock on April 16, 1896 in Moinesti, Romania. He was a poet and essayist known mainly as a founder of Dada, a nihilistic revolutionary movement in the arts. The Dadaist movement originated in Zurich during World War I. Tzara wrote the first Dada texts entitled La Premiére Aventure Cèleste de Monsieur Antipyrine (The First Heavenly Adventure of Mr. Antipyrine) in 1916 and Vingt-Cinq Poémes (Twenty-Five Poems) in 1918 and the movement's manifestos, Sept Manifestes Dada (Seven Dada Manifestos) in 1924.

Around 1930, he joined the more constructive activities of Surrealism. He devoted much of his time to the reconciliation of Surrealism and Marxism. He joined the Communist Party in 1936 and the French Resistance movement during World War II. His mature works included L'Homme Approximatif (The Approximate Man), Parler Seul (Speaking Alone), and La Face Intèrieure (The Inner Face). He died on December 24, 1963 at the age of 67.

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