Clément Pansaers (1 May 1885 – 31 October 1922) was the main proponent of the

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Pari ...

movement in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. He began writing poetry in 1916 after abandoning his career as an

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religiou ...

. Along with several members of the

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...

circle, he founded the review ''Résurrection'', which published early texts by

Carl Einstein Carl Einstein, born Karl Einstein, also known by pseudonym Savine Ree Urian (26 April 1885 – 5 July 1940), was an influential German Jewish writer, art historian, anarchist, and critic. Regarded as one of the first critics to appreciate the dev ...

, Pierre Jean Jouve,

Franz Werfel Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian- Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of ''The For ...

, and others. His first properly "Dadaist" work, ''Pan-Pan au Cul du Nu Nègre'' was published in 1920. This pamphlet, along with ''Bar Nicanor'' (1921), was read and admired by figures like

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the Modernism, modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important ...

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...

Theo van Doesburg Theo van Doesburg (, 30 August 1883 – 7 March 1931) was a Dutch artist, who practiced painting, writing, poetry and architecture. He is best known as the founder and leader of De Stijl. He was married to artist, pianist and choreographer Nell ...

Francis Picabia Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, poet and typographist. After experimenting with Impressionism and Pointillism, Picabia became associated with Cubism ...

and

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first '' Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...

. Pansaers moved to Paris in 1921, where he took part in Dada manifestations until his early death from

Hodgkin's disease Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition ...

Bibliography

*''Le Pan-Pan au Cul du Nu Nègre'' (Brussels: Editions Alde, 1920) *''Bar Nicanor'' (Brussels: Editions AIO, 1921) *''L'apologie de la paresse'' (Antwerp: Ca Ira!, 1922) *''Bar Nicanor et autres textes dada'', edited by Marc Dachy (Paris: Lebovici/Champ Libre, 1986) *''Apologia dell'ozio'', (Firenze, Italia, Gratis, 1993) *''L'apologie de la paresse'' (Paris, Allia, 1996) *''Le Pan Pan au Cul du Nu Nègre'', (Brussels, Didier Devillez éditeur, 2002, collection "fac similé", with a preface by Benjamin Hennot) *'' Bar Nicanor'', (Brussels, Didier Devillez éditeur, 2002, collection "fac similé", with a preface by Benjamin Hennot) *''Apologie van de luiheid'', (Nijmegen, Van Tilt, traduction Rokus Hofstede, with a preface by Benjamin Hennot) *''Pan Pan voor de Poeper van de Neger Naakt & Bar Nicanor'', (Nijmegen, Van Tilt, 2003, with a preface by Benjamin Hennot) *''Pan-Dada: The Writings of Clement Pansaers'', edited by Michael Sanchez with a preface by Marc Dachy, forthcoming.

External links

Facsimiles of Pansaers's three published books
on the International Dada Archive website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pansaers, Clement 1885 births 1922 deaths Belgian poets in French Flemish poets Dada Deaths from Hodgkin lymphoma Deaths from cancer in France 20th-century Belgian poets