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Tzara, Tristan

(Encyclopedia)Tzara, Tristan trēstäNˈ tsäˈrä [key], 1896–1963, French writer, b. Romania. He studied at the Univ. of Zürich, where he and his friends formulated the dadaist movement initially as a pacifist...

Pune

(Encyclopedia)Pune or Poona both: po͞oˈnə [key], city (1991 pop. 2,493,987), Maharashtra state, W central India. It is a district administrative and commercial center with automotive vehicle works, appliance fac...

Bandung Conference

(Encyclopedia)Bandung Conference, meeting of representatives of 29 African and Asian nations, held at Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955. The aim—to promote economic and cultural cooperation and to oppose colonialism—...

Ricasoli, Bettino, Barone

(Encyclopedia)Ricasoli, Bettino, Barone bĕt-tēˈnō bärôˈnā rēkäzôˈlē [key], 1809–80, Italian political leader. An active propagandist for Italian unity, he became (1859) head of the provisional govern...

Wägner, Elin

(Encyclopedia)Wägner, Elin āˈlĭn vĕgˈnĕr [key], 1882–1949, Swedish novelist. Wägner was a leading feminist of her day. In early works such as Pennskaftet [the penholder] (1910), she deals with the social,...

Castex, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Castex, Jean, 1965–, French government official and political leader. A member of the center-right Republicans (and its predecessor, the Union for a Popular Movement), Castex has held a variety of c...

Boye, Karin

(Encyclopedia)Boye, Karin käˈrēn bôˈyĕ [key], 1900–1941, Swedish poet, novelist, and short-story writer. Boye's volumes of poetry, including Moln [clouds] (1922) and Glömda land [forgotten land] (1924), re...

Steffen, Albert

(Encyclopedia)Steffen, Albert älˈbĕrt shtĕfˈən [key], 1884–1963, Swiss novelist, poet, and playwright, who wrote in German. His works are concerned with the martyrdom and redemption of Christ. To Steffen th...

spasm

(Encyclopedia)spasm, involuntary rigid muscle contraction, often persistent and often accompanied by pain. It usually has some underlying physical cause such as disease, strain, or injury to the muscle or nearby ti...

speleology

(Encyclopedia)speleology spēlēŏlˈəjē [key], systematic exploration of caves, popularly called spelunking. It includes the measuring and mapping of caves and reporting on the flora and fauna found in them. One...