Stephan Roll

Stephan Roll or Ştefan Roll (the alias of Gheorghe Dinu) was born in current Greek Macedonia. His father was a milkman who owned a large dairy products shop in Bucharest - a place which was often attended by poets and artists of the Romanian avant-garde in the '20s and early '30s. The pseudonym was derived from the initials of a Swiss artist. He first rose to success in 1924, when he collaborated with Ilarie Voronca at the 75 HP revue. Roll and his friend Voronca remained unseparable for several years, in which their styles evolved on the same path. However, in 1931, after Voronca publishes a book at a mainstream publishing house, Roll criticises him. Not long after, he opts for Socialist realism and leaves the avant-garde.