"Midnight on Board": Laura Alcoba's investigation into the lost images of poet Benjamin Fondane

Laura Alcoba has settled into the Hotel Belvédère du Rayon vert, a once-grand establishment now standing abandoned and restored on the Atlantic coast near the Spanish border. She is using this evocative setting for a writing residency, immersing herself in the story of the Romanian poet and philosopher Benjamin Fondane.

Alcoba's "Fondane briefcase" is filled with materials on the writer, who arrived in Paris in 1923. Fondane, who was francophile and francophone, sought a literary life. He lived in Paris with his sister Line and his wife Geneviève, a close-knit existence marked by poverty and odd jobs.

Tragedy struck in 1944 when Line and Benjamin were arrested. Although Fondane, by then a naturalized French citizen, was released, he chose to remain with his sister. Both were subsequently deported and perished in Auschwitz. A small square in Paris now bears Fondane's name, a poignant detail that serves as a motif in Alcoba's work.

This article serves as a brief introduction to Alcoba's exploration of Fondane's life and legacy, hinting at the deeper connections she seeks between past and present. The full story, which delves into her research and reflections, is available to subscribers.